White Out
by Elder Dragon93
Summary: Rukia Kurosaki knew she wasn't normal, I mean, what normal person can see the souls of the dearly departed. But what little normalcy she did have in her life flew right out the window on the day that she meet Ichigo Shiba. Now she has to act as the Substitute Shinigami until he gets his powers back, hopefully before something goes wrong.
1. The Deathberry and the Guiding Light

**Disclaimer:** Bleach is owned by Tite Kudo, not by me. If I owned Bleach, Zangetsu would have gotten a lot more screen time. I also would not have written the Quincy Arc, the old man deserves better than that.

**Spoilers:** Soul Society, Bount, Arrancar, & Hueco Mundo Arcs

**Genre:** Adventure, Action, Humor, Supernatural

**Warnings:** Swearing, violence, romance, and implied intimate relationships later on.

Hello, everyone. I am Elder Dragon, and this is my first fan fiction. The inspiration for this was a combination of different things, including the discovery of Ichigo's heritage and an idea I had for Rukia's Bankai. This fic will be rated T overall, but I might write some M-rated oneshots for the Universe later. And now, without further adieu, I present, White Out.

(P.S. The title refers to a blizzard, not the stuff for correcting mistakes made in pen)

…...(page break)...

**White Out**

**Chapter 1: Enter the Death Berry and the Guiding Light**

…...(page break)...

_We stand in awe before that which cannot be seen, and we respect with every fiber that which cannot be explained._

In the night, a lone figure stands atop a telephone pole looking out over a town known as Karakura. This figure is tall, about 5'8'', with tanned skin, brown eyes, and bright orange hair that is arranged in spikes. He wears a black Shihakusho with a sleeveless kosode. On his left arm is a tattoo of a jagged line starting at his elbow, ending with a swirl just above his wrist. Strapped to his back with an aquamarine belt is an oversized katana in a silver sheath. The tsuba is circular and gold with two silver crescent moons engraved on the top facing away from the hilt. The hilt itself is silver with aquamarine wrapping and tassel.

Suddenly, the boy stiffens and turns his head to face the river that bisects this town.

"I sense strong Reiryoku near by.", the boy says before jumping off into the night.

…...(page break)...

"Hey, Girly! What the hell do you think your doing?", a particularly unpleasant looking thug asks a young girl in a gray high school uniform, wearing what appear to be beaded bracelets on her wrists; black on her left, white on her right. This girl is short, about 4'8'', with short, black hair, and violet eyes. Eyes that are currently glaring at the group of delinquents in front of her while she stands over the one she just knocked down.

"What! Not gonna say anything?", the punk asks as he walks up to her, cracking his knuckles, "Well, how 'bout I just- Uph!" The punk didn't get to finish his statement of what he was going to do, because at that moment, the girl simultaneously punched him in the gut and kneed him in the groin.

"Yama-Bro's down!", one of the remaining three guys shouts as the girl pounds the leader's head into the ground with here foot, "we gotta help him."

"Are you crazy?", the one to the right asks.

"Yeah, there's no way I'm going up against that psycho bitch.", the one to the left states.

"Question one," the girl suddenly says with a cheery voice and a sadistic grin on her face, startling the punks into silence.

"You see that over there?", the girl asks in that sickly sweet tone while pointing at a telephone pole. At the base is a vase of daffodils that was tipped over on its side. When the punks nodded ascension, she continued, "Do you know why that's there?"

"Uh, I guess someone left those flowers for that kid that died here recently.", the guy in the middle answered.

"Very good.", the girl cues, as if she is a kindergarten teacher congratulating a student on getting the correct answer. "Now, question two, why is it laying on its side like that?"

"I guess one of us knocked it over when we were skateboarding threw here?", the one to the right answered. They were starting to get scared now.

"Correct again. Now don't you think you should apologize to this poor girl for knocking over her flowers?", the girl asks as she points her thumb over her left shoulder. As the thugs look behind the girl, they notice something that wasn't there before. A young girl in a pink dress and pigtails,with a chain coming out of her chest, covered head to toe in blood.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! WE'RE SORRY!", they all scream as they run off.

"Well, that should keep them away for a while.", the girl said to the young spirit, who was now free of blood, "Sorry I had to use you like that, Emiko."

"That's okay, Nee-Chan, and thank you." Emiko replies, "I think I'll be able to rest in peace now."

"All right," the girl say as moves to pick up her Happy Bunny backpack from where she put it to avoid damage and to put the vase right again, "I'll bring by some new flowers tomorrow. You be sure to pass on soon, you hear."

"Okay, Nee-Chan.", Emiko says as she vanishes from sight. The girl then walks the few remaining blocks to her house, situated behind her father's clinic. Kurosaki Clinic is written out in kanji on sign over the clinic. Hanging from the gate leading to the house is a sign that reads 'Room For Rent'.

"Tou-Chan, I'm home." the girl says as she takes off her shoes at the door.

"You're late, Rukia.", her father states from the dinning area. Rukia walks into the dinning area to find her father, Byakuya Kurosaki,sitting at the table, wearing his usual black jeans and white graphic tee, his long, black hair tied back in its usual red hair tie, with his bangs partially covering the left side of his face, and his steel-gray eyes stare at her playfully as he smiles and holds up his hand. Hanging from it is Rukia's Happy Bunny backpack.

"How do you keep doing that!", Rukia exclaims as she rushes up and snatches her backpack back from a highly amused Byakuya.

"But, Rukia, if I told you that I wouldn't be able to do it any more. Now, tell me why you were late."

Rukia sweat drops at the first comment, but decides she doesn't want to know. Instead she answers the second comment.

"I was helping the spirit of a young girl find peace." As Rukia was explaining this, her father noticed a floating ball of energy over her right shoulder.

"Speaking of spirits, you have a new one.", Byakuya points out, pointing an elegant finger at there new guest.

"Oh, hello.", Rukia says as she takes in the new arrival. The spirit appears to be that of a business man in his mid-sixties, wearing a white button up shirt, a red tie, and what appears to be gray-green pants, but it's hard to tell since his legs have taken the form of a smokey tail, or genie tail, as Rukia likes to think of it. Hanging from his chest is the same chain that Emiko has.

"Hello.", the man replies.

"Can I help you with anything?", Rukia asks.

"Oh, no. I just came by to see if the rumors about a powerful Spiritual Medium were true." the man says, "You know, that Don Kanonji fellow is good for a laugh, but he really isn't that good, so finding someone that actually knows what they're doing is a miracle to us spirits."

"I imagine it would be.", Byakuya says with a chuckle.

"All right. Well, you tell me if you need anything.", Rukia says to the spirit.

"Okay, I will.", the spirit says before vanishing from sight, leaving Rukia and Byakuya to dine in relative peace.

Once she was finished eating, Rukia went upstairs to her room, her father watching her progress until she closes her door. He then goes into the back room and kneels before the butsudan. Within is a picture of a woman that looks remarkable like Rukia. He lights incense in order to pay his respects to the woman in the photograph.

"Hisana," Byakuya says, "I'm not sure what to do anymore.", he sighs before continuing, "Rukia's having a hard time lately. She's told me that she's seeing more spirits know then ever before. It may be that the time has finally come for me to explain her heritage."

…...(page break)...

_"The incident occurred outside Karakura Station just after 7:30 am as the morning commute was getting into full swing. Witnesses reported hearing a loud crash and feeling the ground shake beneath their feet. The entire area has been cordoned off."_

"That's near hear.", Rukia says around the toast in her mouth as Byakuya shuts off the television. Rukia notices that her father has a weird look on his face, concern combined with something else that Rukia can't identify.

"Rukia, be careful on your way to school.", Byakuya says as he puts on the fedora that he always wears when outside the house, still with that weird look.

"Okay, Tou-Chan.", Rukia replied after finishing off her toast.

"Also, Ryuuken needs me at the hospital. I won't be home until late in the evening. I have dinner prepared for you in the fridge, you just need to heat it up in the microwave."

"Tou-Chan, I can make my own meals.", Rukia complained.

"Oh really.", Byakuya replies sarcastically, the weird look on his face replaced by his usual playful one, "The last time I let you cook, you nearly burned the house down."

"I did not."

"Whatever. Well, Good bye Rukia. I'll see you tonight."

"Bye Tou-Chan. Have a nice day." With that, they both exit the house and head off in opposite directions.

As Rukia walks to school, she passes the scene of the accident. She stops at the telephone pole where she helped Emiko yesterday to place a new vase of flowers.

"Hello.", Rukia says as she straightens up. No answer. "Maybe she moved on.", she thought out loud. Suddenly, there's a loud roar coming from downtown. Without thinking, Rukia started running towards the sound. _'I have a bad feeling about this.'_, Rukia thought as she came to the first big buildings. That's when she saw it. A huge, bug-like monster, wearing a white mask, with a hole in its chest. No one else seemed to be able to see it, but they were certainly able to see the gauge marks it was making in the side of one of the buildings.

"What the hell is that thing?", Rukia shouts as the monster crashes through another building. Suddenly, she hers a young girl's scream, and then, out of the debris cloud runs Emiko. The monster turns and starts following her.

"Emiko, this way!", Rukia shouts as Emiko runs past, then following close behind, making sure she keeps herself between Emiko and the monster.

"Nee-Chan, what is that thing?"

"I don't know. Just keep running."

Suddenly, Emiko trips and falls, and Rukia, not having time to think of anything else, stops and faces the monster. For a moment, time froze, and all sound ceased. Until a black butterfly flew across her line of vision, followed by a boy wearing an old fashioned outfit that was almost completely black. On his back was a four foot long, silver sheath; in his hands was the sword that went with it, raised above his head and poised to strike. When the sword came down, the monster was split cleanly in two.

As the monster begins to dissolve, the boy sheathes his sword and turns around. The only thing that registers in Rukia's mind before the boy walks passed her is that flaming orange hair. As she turns around to follow his progress, she finds that both he and Emiko have disappeared.

"Miss, are you alright?" And the spell is broken.

"I'm fine.", Rukia replies to the concerned looking business man.

"Oh man! There are scorch marks all over the sidewalk. Do you think it was another explosion?", the man asks.

"Yeah, maybe.", Rukia replies without much conviction. Because whatever that was that she just saw, that sure as hell wasn't an explosion.

…...(page break)...

"Man, this place is practically Reiryoku soup. No wonder there are so many Spiritually powerful people in this town.", the orange haired boy remarks as he walks down the street in a suburban area a little ways from downtown.

_"Maybe that's why they sent you, Ichigo."_, a tenor voice states inside the boy, Ichigo's, mind, _"They want a strong warrior who is also a skilled negotiator. That way you can defend the town from the Hollows that are attracted to the Reiryoku of the area, as well as make new allies."_

"Wow, Zangetsu. You actually sounded serious.", Ichigo deadpans. Zangetsu falls silent at this. The only sound in Ichigo's inner world is a grumbling that sounds suspiciously like 'can be serious when I want to be.' Ichigo gives a light chuckle at this. Zangetsu is so childish most of the time, it's hard to believe that he _can_ be serious; but it doesn't mean that his advice and ideas aren't good ones. In fact, the idea he had just now is worth looking into, but not at the moment.

Ichigo was currently tracking the Reiryoku of the Plus that the Hollow was after. That girl is yet another individual with an impressive amount of Reiryoku. Not as impressive as the Spiritual Medium she was hiding behind, but still, she has a pretty good chance of getting a Seated position once she graduated from the Academy.

Just then, Ichigo feels the Reiryoku concentrate around a telephone at the end of the block. At the base of it is a vase filled with white daffodils. _This must be the place where she died,_ Ichigo thinks.

"You can come out now," Ichigo says out loud, "I won't hurt you." After a few moments, a young girl, wearing a pink dress and pig tails, with a chain coming out of her chest, appears beside the telephone pole.

"You really won't hurt me, Onii-San?", the girl asks shyly.

"No. It's my job to protect people.", Ichigo replies.

"Like a police officer?"

"Yeah, exactly like a police officer.", Ichigo exclaims will pointing his index finger up with a goofy grin on his face. _Thank you, Nemu, for the free access to Living World television._ "You see, I'm a Shinigami, that's like a police officer for spirits like you. It's my job to help spirits pass on and to take care of hollows like the one that you just saw."

"You mean that monster that attacked me and Nee-Chan?"

"Yep, that would be the one."

"That sounds pretty cool.", the girl states.

"What's you name?", Ichigo asks as he gets down on one knee so that he's at eye level with the girl.

"Emiko.", the girl replies.

"Well, you know what, Emiko. I think you have what it takes to be a Shinigami.", Ichigo states with playful smirk forming on his lips.

"Really?", Emiko asks with an excited smile on her face.

"Yeah, really," Ichigo answers, his smirk deepening, "and I'm gonna help you out." With that, Ichigo draws his sword. Emiko has a look of panic on her face, but relaxes when she sees him pointing the pommel at her, not the blade. "I'm going to send you to someone I know on the other side who can help you get into Shin'o Academy. That's the school where you learn to be a Shinigami. Do you understand?", when she nods her ascension, he continues, "Okay, I'm going to send you on. When you wake up, you'll be in front of a little house with a couple of giant arms sticking out of the ground. Don't ask, I don't know. Anyway, when you approach the house, two big guys will appear. I want you to introduce yourself to them, then tell them that Ichigo sent you and your looking for Kukaku. Did you get all that?"

"Yes."

"Alrighty then! Lets get started.", Ichigo exclaims.

"Wait.", Emiko suddenly says, making Ichigo pause in the act of bringing the pommel of his sword to her forehead.

"What's wrong?", Ichigo asks with a confused look on his face.

"Can I make a request?", Emiko asks in return. Ichigo notices that she has a concerned look on her face.

"Sure.", Ichigo replies, a soft smile replacing the confusion. A spirit making a finally request isn't uncommon, and Ichigo will do anything within reason to let the girl feel at ease.

"Can you keep an eye on Nee-Chan. Some of the other spirits in town say that she's been attacked by a monster like that one from earlier before."

"You mean that Spiritual Medium you were with. Yeah sure. I was planning on asking her for her help anyway." Ichigo is relieved that the request is something he can manage, and honestly not that surprised that that wasn't the first time that girl was attacked.

"Pinkie swear?" Ichigo laughs at this and puts his left hand up in the pinkie swear position, seeing as his right hand is currently holding his sword. Emiko smiles and completes the pinkie swear.

"Alright. Is there anything else?", Ichigo asks.

"No. You can send me on now."

"Alright." Ichigo quiets his mind and pictures Kukaku's house. He discovered a while back that if a Shinigami thinks of a certain place in Rukongai while performing Konso, then the spirit being sent on will wake up in that general area. Oddly enough, this wasn't taught at the Academy. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Ichigo once again focuses on Kukaku's house while lightly pressing the pommel of his sword to Emiko's forehead. She closes her eyes in peaceful bliss as a soft blue light envelops her. When the light fades, a lone black butterfly flies off toward the sky.

After a few moments, Ichigo stood up straight and set off down the street. He would seek out the Medium later. Right now, he has another hollow to track, because he knows for a fact that the hollow he just purified, Creeper, is known to work with another hollow by the name of Fishbone D. Fishbone is also known to be more intelligent the most lesser hollows. Overall, something that shouldn't be left to roam around. Now, if only he could sense it.

…...(page break)...

Rukia is laying down on her bed, starring at the ceiling. It's nighttime now and she is wearing her favorite pajamas, black sweat pants and a white t-shirt with black, short sleeves. She has had a long day, first in trying to answer questions for the police, and then in trying to answer questions for her classmates, when all she wanted was some peace and quiet to mull over what she had witnessed.

_ Who was he?_, Rukia thinks. _Arrrggghhhh! I can't make any sense of this. What the heck is he supposed to be, a superhero. _Rukia grabs her hair in both hands out of frustration. She's about to get up and start pacing to work off some off the stress when she notices a black butterfly flying in through her open window. Following the butterfly's progress into her room, she see's something completely crazy. The guy she saw this morning walking through her wall and crouching on her desk.

Rukia sits up straight and shimmies closer to the wall as the guy jumps from her desk to stand on the floor. Now that there isn't a large amount of adrenaline running through her veins, she can actually get a good look at the guy. He's tall, with bright orange hair and chocolate colored eyes. He's wearing black hakama, white sash, and a black, sleeveless kosode that reveals a tattoo on his left arm that appears to be a jagged line that starts at his elbow and ends in a swirl above his wrist. Strapped to his back with an aquamarine belt is a monstrous sized katana in a silver colored sheath. The tsuba is gold with two silver crescent moons engraved on it facing out from the hilt. The hilt itself is silver with an aquamarine wrapping and tassel.

"I feel it close by.", Ichigo says. The next moment, he winds up face planted on the floor with his rear end up in the air and a sharp pain in his backside.

"And what exactly are you feeling, Pervert-San, your next opportunity?", says a female voice from behind him as light fills the room.

_"I think you pissed her off."_

_ "Not helping, Zangetsu."_, Ichigo shoots into his inner world as he turns his head to face the woman that kicked him, only to pause in shock, his eyes open wide. "Your that Spiritual Medium from this morning."

"Oh, good. You know what I am," the woman says with a voice completely soaked in honey and venom, "so now you have to tell me who you are."

"You want to know.", Ichigo says as he stands up. "Fine. I'll tell you." He's now at his full height, aiming a scowl down at her. He's glad to see that he towers over her by a foot. "I am a Shinigami."

…...(page break)...

**"Damn that Creeper."**, swears a large, fish-like hollow standing next to a familiar telephone pole, **"He could never do anything right. And now he's gone and gotten himself killed, costing us that Plus. But no matter. I sense that delicious smelling Spiritual Medium close by, as well as a Shinigami. What a rare treat."** And with that, the hollow stalks off towards a certain house.

…...(page break)...

"So let me get this straight.", the woman states in a calm manor. "You're something called a Shinigami."

"Um-hm", Ichigo replies with a nod of his head.

"And something called the Soul Society sent you here on a mission." Ichigo nods his head again. "To deal with monsters like the one from this morning." Another nod. "Which was trying to consume Emiko." A final nod. "Yeah, that sounds believable. Along with flying pigs and the Tooth Fairy!", the woman shouts as she throws a notebook at him, which he dodges with ease by moving his head to the side.

"What the hell!", Ichigo exclaims as he stares at her incredulously, "Why wouldn't you believe in Shinigami when you yourself are a Spiritual Medium. Shouldn't you have at least heard of us?"

"Nope, sorry, I haven't.", the woman says as prepares to throw another book at him.

Ichigo gives a long sigh before reciting, " Bakudo #1; Sai." He notes the shocked look on her face as her arms locked behind her back of their on accord, causing her to lose balance and fall to her knees.

"Why can't I move?", the woman asks as she struggles against the bond.

"Because I just placed a paralysis on you.", Ichigo replies, crossing his arms with a smirk on his face. "That was called a Kido spell. It's something only Shinigami can use. Oh, and you shouldn't struggle like that, you could cause permanent damage to your soul. And now..."

Ichigo watches with satisfaction as the girl's eyes widen in surprise and then shut tight in fear as he draws his sword.

_"Wow, you're being rather sadistic this evening."_

_ "Shut up, Zan!"_, Ichigo mentally shouts in exasperation as he brings the pommel to the forehead of the old male spirit standing right behind the woman.

"Ojii-San.", the woman says. She is looking behind her to see what was going on.

"Am I being sent on now?", the old man asks.

"Yes.", Ichigo replies.

"Alright then. Be sure to watch out for the girl. She is a rare find." And with that, the old man is enveloped in a soft blue light, just as Emiko was, and is sent own.

"The spirits in this town must really care about you.", Ichigo says as he sheathes his sword again.

"What just happened?", the girl asks.

"That was Konso.", Ichigo replies, "I essentially just helped him pass on to Soul Society. That is one of my duties as a Shinigami.

"Now," Ichigo says as he sits down in front of the woman, "I'm going to explain this as simply as possible so that you understand. You ready?" When she nods, he continues. "There are two kinds of spirits in this world. The first kind are the ones you see everyday. These are called Pluses. The other kind are called Hollows. The monster that attacked you this morning was a hollow. Hollows will attack Pluses and Spiritually powerful humans in order to consume their souls. You with me so far?", another nod, "Alright. Now, Shinigami have two main jobs. The first is to lead Pluses to the Soul Society through Konso, like I just did. The second is to purify hollows where ever we find them."

"That bug Hollow from this morning, why did it attack Emiko?", the woman asks.

"I don't know for sure why they try to consume souls," Ichigo replies, "but I do know that that Hollow wasn't alone."

"Wait, you mean there's another one out there!", she yells, "Why aren't you hunting it down?!"

"That's the problem. I can't pinpoint its location. My senses are being muffled by a powerful force." Suddenly, they both hear a loud roar, followed by a large crash and a strangled yell.

"Tou-Chan!", the girl shouted.

Ichigo immediately exits the room, ignoring the girl's shout of 'Hey, wait.' Upon exiting the room, he feels the pressure from the hollow. _Damn, this Reiatsu is so strong. Why didn't I sense this earlier?_, Ichigo wonders as he rushes downstairs to face the enemy. When he reaches the bottom, he witnesses a chilling scene. Through the hole in the wall, he can see the Hollow, Fishbone D, standing out on the street, holding someone that looks very familiar to him. _It can't be._

"Tou-Chan!" Ichigo is brought out of his thoughts by the girl's sudden arrival at the bottom of the stairs.

"What are doing down here? It's to dangerous." Of course, the girl proceeds to ignore him and tries to brake the Kido. "Stop that. You're only going to damage you soul." But to Ichigo's astonishment, the girl wiggled her Spirit Energy through weaknesses in the Kido, causing it to brake. _How? Only high ranking Officers can brake a Kido with that kind of finesse._

While the Shinigami is thinking this, Rukia charges forward to attack the Hollow, grabbing her father's baseball bat along the way. She focuses her energy on the bat, making it glow white, and when she's in range, she takes a swing at the Hollow. The force of the blow was enough to make the Hollow drop Byakuya, who landed a short distance in front of the Clinic.

**"So you're the Spiritual Medium that the boss wanted taken out."**, the Hollow muses as it rubs the arm that Rukia hit, **"You're a lot stronger then I was led to believe, but hey, I'm not complaining. It just means more food for me."**

"You fish-faced bastard!" Rukia shouts angrily, "Do you mean to tell me I was your target this whole time!"

**"Yes, and now it's time to finish the job."**, the Hollow says before lashing its arm out at Rukia, knocking the bat out of her hands and throwing her a few feet down the street. As the Hollow charges forward, Rukia shuts hear eyes in fear, waiting for the end to come.

When she hears the impact, but doesn't feel it she tentatively opens her eyes to a horrifying sight. The orange haired Shinigami had blocked the blow, and now the entire left side of his torso was in the Hollow's mouth, its teeth biting into his flesh, the boy's sword jammed in between two of them.

Ichigo has no idea why he did it, he just acted, and now he's stuck in a Hollows mouth. He applies pressure to his sword, cutting off two of Fish-Breath's teeth. Fishbone backs off, howling in pain, leaving Ichigo to fall face first into the asphalt.

"Shinigami!", the girl yells.

"Baka," Ichigo says as he pushes himself off the ground, "you should have let me handle it. But I can't really blame you for running off to save your Tou-Chan. I probably would have done the same thing if I was in that situation."

"What now?", the girl asks.

"_Zangetsu, are you okay with this?"_

_ "Yes, Ichigo. It is the only way."_Ichigo gives a mental sigh of relief at this.

"_Then I suppose this is goodbye for now, Aibou."_

_ "We will be reunited in a few weeks time."_, Zangetsu replies, both shocked and happy at hearing the title that Ichigo hadn't used with him in over forty years. Ichigo gives another mental sigh as he prepares himself for what he is about to do.

"I'm to injured fight now.", Ichigo states as crawls to the nearest wall and leans against it, "There is only one way we can save all of our hides at the moment. You have to become a Shinigami."

"How?", the girl asks incredulously.

"You must run my Zanpakto through you body, into the very core of your being." Ichigo says as he lifts his sword up, pointing it at her, "That way, I can pour my energy into you. I've got to warn you though. If we do this, there is a chance you could die, but if don't do this, we're all going to die." the girl turns to look at her father, who was still unconscious on the ground. That one look seemed to strengthen her resolve.

"Give me that blade, Shinigami.", the girl says with a smile on her face.

"My name isn't Shinigami," Ichigo says, a smile forming on his own face, "it's Ichigo Shiba."

"My name is Rukia Kurosaki.", Rukia states as she takes hold of his Zanpakto. At this point, the Hollow charges at them.

"Let's hope this isn't our final meeting, ne."

"Yeah.", Rukia says as the tip off the blade is plunged into her chest. Just as Fishbone is about to strike, they are engulfed in a bright, white light. When the light fades, the Hollow finds itself missing an arm, it having been cut off by Rukia, who is now standing right behind it. She now wears a full Shihakusho. Strapped to her waist with an aquamarine sash is a silver sheath. In her hand is a standard sized katana. The tsuba is round, and gold with silver crescent moons engraved on it, facing out from the hilt. The hilt itself is silver with aquamarine wrapping and tassel.

"This ends now, bastard.", Rukia says before charging at the Hollow.

_This isn't possible, _Ichigo thinks. He is no longer wearing his Shihakusho; instead he is wearing a white yukata, clutching his still-bleeding left shoulder, looking on in shock and awe as Rukia charges toward the Hollow. _I have one of the highest Reiryoku levels in all of Soul Society, and furthermore, she managed to take all of my power when I only meant to give her half, so how does she have so much control over it. _Just as Ichigo finishes this thought, Rukia finishes off the Hollow with a clean bifurcation, before abruptly collapsing from the stress and exhaustion brought on by the situation.

"Rukia.", a weak voice familiar to Ichigo calls out. When he turns to look at the person who spoke, he sees the man, whom Ichigo assumes is Rukia's father, has gotten up off the ground, and is now limping towards Rukia. As he walks passed a street light, Ichigo gets a clear view of his face, and there isn't a doubt in his mind who this man is.

"Taicho!"

"Don't, Ichigo-Kun. I'm not a taicho anymore. You can just call me Byakuya now.", Byakuya says as he kneels beside his daughter. "What are you doing here, Urahara?"

"Ah, don't be like that, Kurosaki-San.", a man says from behind Ichigo's back, "I just came to investigate the clash of Reiatsu occurring at your house." Ichigo quickly turns around to see a man with shaggy, blonde hair, wearing light green kimono and hakama under a dark green haori. On his feet are a pair of wooden sandals, his eyes hidden in the shadow of a white-and-green, striped hat.

"So you must be the young Shiba heir.", the man addresses Ichigo, "Looks like you're in a bit of a bind. I might be able to help you out."

…...(page break)...

**Omake**

…...(page break)...

**Gin's Outtakes**

"Hello, everyone," says a man with silver hair, slit eyes, and a wide grin, standing in the middle of a darkroom under a spot light. "my name is Gin Ichimaru, and Elder Dragon placed me in charge of outtakes, as well as in depth interviews and any spoilers that come up."

Suddenly the lights turn on, revealing a large room with a desk, a few chairs scattered around, and a large TV screen built into the wall.

"Alrighty then," Gin says as he moves to sit behind the desk, "now that I've introduced myself, lets get to the real meat of this segment. An interview with the lovely Elder Dragon." Upon ending that sentence a woman with an ample bust and dirty blond hair reaching down to the small of her back walks in, wearing a dark red shirt, black short-shorts, combat boots, a black coat that reaches down to the tops of her boots, and a pair of glasses.

"Hello, everyone.", I say as I sit down in one of the many chairs in the room, "My name is Elder Dragon, and I am the authoress of this, and hopefully many other stories."

"Alright everyone, time for questions."

"Fire away."

"First question is one that I'm sure a lot of readers have; why the personality change on two characters that are well known for being rather stoic?"

"Ah, now that is a good question. For Byakuya, I see it, not as changing his personality, but as his personality didn't get changed in the first place. I believe that the reason why he is so cold in the anime and manga is a combination of his wife's death and the pressures of being a noble clan head. In my story, he has been in exile for about 50 years, separated from the rest of his clan, and while, yes, his wife still died, instead of being surrounded by the Kuchiki Elders, he is surrounded by friends who, for the sake of spoilers, well not be identified until later.

"As for Zangetsu, well I'm working with the bit of information in the anime that states that Zangetsu and Shirosaki were once one and the same. Since, in this story, they never split off, I adjusted his personality accordingly, as well as keeping it in line with the kind of Zanpakto I'm having him be."

"Speaking of Shirosaki, I heard he and Kon weren't to happy about not getting parts in the story right away.", Gin states. I sigh in exacerbation before tossing him a DVD.

"Here. I've got the whole altercation on video." Gin pops the disk in a hidden DVD player and turns on the TV. I appear on screen with two blubbering figures attached to my legs. One is a completely bleached out version of Ichigo, the other is a lion plush toy. All around us, people have stopped what they're doing to observe the spectacle. The camera is shaking slightly with the suppressed laughter of the cameraman.

"It's not fair!", they both cry. "King gets to be in it; why can't I!?", "I want to be with Rukia Nee-San!"

"I have told you guys before," the me on screen says as she pinches the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger, "the story wouldn't make any sense if I put you in right from the start. You will have your time in the spotlight, just not for a little while."

"But it's not fair!", the both cry again. A tick mark appears on TV me's forehead as she folds her arms under her ample bust.

"If you two don't stop this behavior right now, I will put you in a fan fiction with the most embarrassing and demeaning plot line possible." Everyone else on screen laughs as Shirosaki and Kon cower in a corner. Then the video cuts off.

"My my.", Gin says, "That is a prime example of why you should never cross a fan fiction author. Well, it looks like time is just about up. Is there anything you wanted to say before we sign of Dragon?"

"No, nothing at the moment."

"Alright then, that's it for this session of Gin's Outtakes. Bye bye."

…...(page break)...

**Glossary**

**-Otou/Tou **(_Daddy/Father_)

**-Ojii **(_Old Man/Grandfather_)

**-Onii/Nii **(_Older Brother_)

**-Onee/Nee **(_Older Sister_)

**-Aibou **(_Partner_)

**-Butsudan **(_Buddhist alter_) : A shrine found in temples and Japanese homes. While most use it as a means of worshiping Buddha, Byakuya merely uses it to honor the memory of his dead wife, Hisana.

**-Shihakusho **(_Garment of Dead Souls_) : The standard Shinigami uniform, consisting of: a white _shitagi_ (equivalent to an undergarment), a black _kosode_ (the outer shirt), black _hakama_ (pants), a white _hakama-himo_ (belt, for lack of a better word), white _tabi_ (socks), and _waraji_ (sandals). Some Shinigami will make alterations to there uniforms to personalize them. (Ex. Ichigo wears a sleeveless kosode, as well as an aquamarine strap across his chest from his right shoulder to his lift hip to carry his Zanpakto)

Fukutaicho wear an armband with their division's symbol and number, usually on their left arm. Taicho wear a white haori (jacket) with their division's number on the back, inside Gotei 13 symbol (a rhombus). Some Taicho have long sleeved haoris, while others have sleeveless haoris. The color of the underside also seems to be division- if not Taicho- specific.

**-Reiryoku **(_Spiritual Energy_): a power aligned with the spiritual sensitivity and willpower of the user. It is used by Shinigami and other spiritual beings for their various abilities.

**-Reiatsu **(_Spiritual Pressure_): the physical force/pressure that a person's Reiryoku creates when released. Most Shinigami, Demons, and Arrancar, even Quincy and Bounts can manipulate the release of their reiatsu.

**-Shinigami **(_ "death god(s)"/Soul Reaper(s)_): Shinigami are guardians of souls going through the circle of transmigration. They purify Hollows that would do harm in the World of the Living, as well as ensure the safe passage of Pluses by giving them soul burial.

**-Konso **(_Soul Burial_): the process by which a Shinigami sends a wandering Plus from the Human World to either Soul Society (if they were good), or Hell (if they committed acts of evil). Konso is preformed by tapping the hilt of the Zanpakto to the souls forehead and transporting them to the afterlife.

**-Hollow**: a race of creatures which are born from Human souls who, for various reasons, do not cross over to Soul Society after death and stay in the Human World for too long. They are corrupt spirits with supernatural powers which devour the souls of the living and the dead.

**-Zanpakto **(_soul-cutter sword_): the main weapon of Shinigami, Arrancar, and Visored. They are amongst the few weapons which can be used to combat Hollows.

Zanpakto are unique to their wielders. Only a select few, known as the Ancient Ones, have held more then one master.

**-Zangetsu **(_Cutting Moon_): In his sealed form, Zangetsu resembles a standard katana, but oversized with an equally oversized silver sheath strapped to Ichigo's right shoulder. The reason for this, as stated by Ichigo, is that Zangetsu doesn't like to be confined. Zangetsu's blade is gray in color, with a gold, circular tsuba. Engraved on the top of the tsuba are two silver, crescent moons facing out from the hilt. The hilt is silver with aquamarine wrappings and tassel.

Zangetsu is one of the Ancient Ones; in fact he is one of the two Heavenly Blades, who are potentially the most powerful of the Ancient Ones, and therefore is treated with great reverence by must of the other Zanpakto. Despite this (or perhaps because of this), Zangetsu has a very playful personality, and while he does have his serious moments, it is more likely that he can be found playing with some of the other, more playful Zanpakto, or annoying some of the more stoic Zanpakto.

**-Kido **(_Demon Arts_): a form of Shinigami combat based on advanced spells produced with strong Reiryoku that can fall into two categories: Bakudo (_Way of Binding_), or Hado (_Way of Destruction_)

**-Bakudo #1; Sai **(_Restrain_): incantation unknown; The index and middle fingers are pointed at the target, causing the target's arms to lock behind their back. Can be used on multiple targets.

**-Inga no Kusari **(_Chain of Fate_): the chain that binds souls to their living bodies. Encroachment of the chain causes Pluses to become Hollows

**-Pluses**: benign ghosts. A chain, known as the Inga no Kusari, protrudes from the chest and binds the plus to a location, object, or person that they felt close to in life.

**Most definitions and translations come from Bleach Wiki.**


	2. Enter the Princess

**Disclaimer:** Bleach is owned by Tite Kudo, not by me. If I owned Bleach, Zangetsu would have gotten a lot more screen time. I also would not have written the Quincy Arc, the old man deserves better than that.

**Spoilers:** Soul Society, Bount, Arrancar, & Hueco Mundo Arcs

**Genre:** Adventure, Action, Humor, Supernatural

**Warnings:** Swearing, violence, romance, and implied intimate relationships later on.

REVIEWS! I've got reviews! Hooray, I'm so happy. Okay, review response:

Phantom Claire: Isshin is Ichigo's father in this story. Kaien is his cousin, but they are/were so close that the consider themselves brothers. Yes, Karin and Yuzu are Ichigo's younger sisters. No Ichigo is not a Visored, but I have something special planned for later involving his inner Hollow. Everything else is spoilers.

Dianne060807: Thank you so much. I'll try to update regularly, but please keep in mind that I am a college student and have a hectic schedule.

Zanka no Tachi 31 : Relax. Ichigo is not going to be as near-useless as Rukia was in the anime and manga. Granted, there are going to be a few fights that Rukia monopolizes, especially in this first part, but for the most part they will kick butt equally.

Alright, now for the actual author's note. Hello, all. Elder Dragon here with the second chapter of White Out. I would like to thank all the people who have read the first chapter. It really gave me a confidence boost. Now for important points; I will put references to various anime and manga in my stories, and often times the with hint at other stories I plan on writing. See if you can spot them.

…...(page break)...

**White Out**

**Chapter 2: Enter the Princess**

…...(page break)...

_When Rukia's eyes open, it is not to the street in front of her house, but instead to a snow covered meadow. Looking up, she sees the sky is covered with dark clouds. Snow is falling gently all around her. Looking around she notices a peculiar sight. Off to her right is a bamboo flagpole, and standing on top of it is a man. From what she can see, he is about twenty years old, with black hair with brown highlights, and sky blue eyes. He is wearing a black iron dou over a black coat that reaches down to mid-calf with tattered edges. Just below the edge of the dou, the coat opens to reveal a red inner lining, as well as black hakama, silver suneate, black kogake, and white waraji._

_ The man is obviously ignoring her, so Rukia looks in the other direction. To her left is a small, wooden hut with a small porch, and a single window to the left of the door. On the porch are two small children. One, a little girl with silver hair and light blue eyes, is dressed as a miko, with red hakama and a white kosode. Around her neck is a white rosary. The other, a little boy with black hair and eyes,is wearing black hakama, gray kosode, and black haori. Around his neck is a black rosary. Both children have huge smiles splitting their faces._

_ Standing behind the children, in the shadow of the doorway, is a lone figure. Rukia can't make out any details other than the figure seems to be the same height as her._

_ "It is good to finally see you in this place, Mistress Rukia."_

_ Rukia abruptly turns around to see a beautiful Yuki-onna, with pale skin and pale, lavender hair that is tied in a partial bun in the back that is clipped at the left side of her head at the front, while on the right it hangs loose, cut slightly shorter, with a strand hanging between her ice blue eyes. She is wearing a Furisode kimono with a large, pale purple bow in the back attached to a pale yellow obi._

_ "Did I startle you that much, Mistress?", the Yuki-onna asks with a slight chuckle._

_ "Who are you?", Rukia asks._

_ "I am -", the Yuki-onna replies, and Rukia's eyes go wide. Her mouth moved but no sound came out. The Yuki-onna sighs at this. "It appears you are not quiet ready to hear my name. I hope you will be soon." At the end of this statement, Rukia's vision starts to fade, her consciousness being pulled toward the really world._

…...(page break)...

"Rukia, wake up.", Byakuya says as he lightly shakes her shoulder.

"Five more minutes.", Rukia mumbles as she turns over. Byakuya straitens up and ponders the situation. A light bulb comes on as he comes up with a solution.

Meanwhile, Rukia is laying there, trying to get a few more minutes of precious sleep when she suddenly feels the sensation of someone tickling her at her weakest point; her stomach.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STOP! HAHAHA! I CAN'T BREATHE!HAHAHAHAHA!", Rukia shouts as she struggles to get away.

"This is what you get for trying to sleep in!", Byakuya states before smoothly dodging a strike from Rukia's pillow. He than proceeds to run out of the room and down the stairs, Rukia following him the whole way. Upon reaching the ruins of the kitchen, however, Rukia comes to a halt. There, sitting at the miraculously intact table, eating breakfast, is a very familiar orangette, wearing the Karakura High School uniform.

"What the heck are you doing here?!", Rukia exclaims, pointing her finger at the boy. Ichigo carefully places his chopsticks down and wipes his face before answering.

"Isn't it obvious. I'm the new transfer student that is renting your spare room.", he states in an innocent tone.

"No, I mean what are you still in the Living World?", Rukia says in an agitated tone, "I thought you would have gone back to Soul Society or something."

"He can't, Rukia.", Byakuya says from behind her, "Only Shinigami can go to Soul Society."

"What do you mean? He is a Shinigami."

"Not now, I'm not,", Ichigo remarks, "because _someone_ took all my powers."

"What?", Rukia asks.

"Last night, I only intended to give you a fraction of my power, but you took nearly all of it.", Ichigo replies, "Now I have to use a Gigai until my power returns." Rukia feels guilty at this. She didn't mean to take all of his power. "Furthermore, you have to take over my duties as a Shinigami."

"Alright.", Rukia says in a calm voice.

"Really?" Ichigo asks, eyes wide with shock.

"Yeah, well, seeing how I absorbed all your powers, it makes sense that I would have to take over your job.", Rukia reasoned, "Why, did you think I was going to say no?"

"Well," Ichigo responded, "if I was the unwitting human in this situation, I would probable say something like 'Last night was a one time thing' or 'I'm not going to put my life on the line for total strangers'. I guess I was expecting you to do the same."

"Ah, come on, give us humans a little more credit then that.", Rukia say in defense of her people. For some odd reason, both Ichigo's and Byakuya's lips twitch upward at this comment.

"Alright," Byakuya says, "enough chit-chat. If you two don't hurry up, you're going to be late."

"Okay, Tou-Chan." "Yes, sir.", Rukia and Ichigo say at the same time.

…...(page break)...

At Karakura High School, two girls can be seen walking down a hallway. Both are wearing the school uniform, and both are carrying messenger bags in front of them, but that is where the similarity ends. One girl has short, spiky black hair, brown eyes, an average bust, and is slightly taller then the other girl, who has long, orange hair, held out of her face by two blue, flower shaped clips, as well as gray eyes and a rather large bust.

"Hey, Orihime," the raven haired girl asks, turning toward her companion, "did you bring lunch with you today?"

"Mm hm," Orihime replies, "leftover Taiyaki style raman with wasabi and honey." The raven tried to imagine it. It didn't look good. "Would you like some Tatsuki?", Orihime asked.

"Uh... no, that's okay.", Tatsuki replies.

"Are you sure?" Suddenly, Orihime finds herself on the ground, having just run into a wall.

"I'm sorry, Miss. Are you alright?", the wall asks, and Orihime realizes that it wasn't a wall she ran into, but a boy; a tall boy with bright orange hair and brown eyes that is holding his hand out to her, a look of concern on his face.

"Oh yes, I'm perfectly fine.", Orihime responds, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her up.

"Ichigo, you should watch where you're going.", Rukia says from the boy's side, hands on her hips.

"Yeah, Bub, you could have really hurt her.", Tatsuki chimed in, arms folded across her chest.

"No, no, no!", Orihime exclaims, arms flailing around in the air, "It was entirely my fault. You guys know how clumsy I am."

"If you're sure you're alright, Miss.", Ichigo says. "Oh, where are my manners? I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Ichigo Shiba.", he says with a bow.

"Oh, I'm Orihime Inoue, and this is my friend, Tatsuki Arisawa.", Orihime says.

"Yo.", Tatsuki says as a form of greeting.

"And you already seem to know Rukia-Chan.", Orihime continues.

"Yeah." Rukia replies, "Well, we better get going. I still have half the school to show Ichigo before class starts." Rukia then starts shoving Ichigo down the hall.

"I expect a full explanation out of you later, Rukia.", Tatsuki shouts after them.

"Okay, later guys.", Rukia shouts back.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Inoue-San, Arisawa-San.", Ichigo puts in as he and Rukia round a corner.

"Huh.", Tatsuki sighs, "Looks like Rukia found another weirdo to join our group."

…...(page break)...

"Rukia, are you alright?", asks a boy sitting in the desk diagonally in front of hers as Rukia takes her customary seat by the window. The boy has short black hair with blue highlights, as well as blue eyes framed by a pair of glasses. On his right wrist is a silver chain with a cross hanging from it.

"I'm fine, Uryu.", Rukia replies, "Why do you ask?"

"I heard about the giant hole that now opens your kitchen up to the street.", Uryu says in an even tone while adjusting his glass to the point that the glare of light completely blocks his eyes from view.

"Whoa. Now Way. What happened?", came the excited babble from the boy sitting in the seat directly behind her. The boy has medium-long, brown hair and brown eyes that are currently wide open along with his mouth. Behind him is another boy looking up from his cellphone. He looks rather young, with short black hair and green eyes that are just as wide.

"Relax, Keigo, Mizuiro. It's not that serious.", Rukia says, waving it off.

"What's not that serious?", Tatsuki asks as she takes the seat in front of her. Orihime takes the seat in front of Tatsuki.

"A truck ran into our house.", Rukia says with a shrug, "Nobody got injured."

"You call a truck running into your house 'not that serious'.", Mizuiro says in a mildly shocked tone with one eyebrow raised. Orihime has a hand over her mouth in shock, while Tatsuki and Uryu are glaring at her suspiciously.

"Do you need any help cleaning up?", asks the boy sitting next to Keigo. He is extremely tall, with dark skin and wavy brown hair that hangs over brown eyes.

"Uh, that's okay Chad.", Rukia replies.

"Yeah, Chad. You'd probably bring the whole house down.", Keigo chimes in.

"Okay, class. Settle down.", says Ochi-Sensei, A young woman with glasses and brown hair done up in a ponytail, "I have an announcement to make." Everybody fell silent. "We have a new transfer student." At this, Ichigo walks in. Everyone seems to be staring at his bright orange hair. "Now, please introduce yourself to the class."

Ichigo picks up a piece of chalk and writes his name on the chalk board. Many people start snickering but stop at Ochi-Sensei's glare. When he's done, he turns to face the class. "Hello, my name is Ichigo Shiba. Please take good care of me."

"Alright," Ochi-Sensei says, "you can take the empty seat next to Kurosaki." And with that, Ichigo goes to sit down next to Rukia.

"Hello again, Inoue-San, Arisawa-San.", Ichigo says politely as he takes his seat.

"Hello again, Shiba-Kun.", Orihime says happily.

"Shiba.", Tatsuki says indifferently.

"Alright, Ichigo.", Rukia says, "You've meet the girls of the group, now it's time to meet the guys. Introduce yourselves, boys."

"Uryu Ishida."

"Keigo Asano."

"Mizuiro Kojima."

"Yasutora Sado."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all, and before you say anything," Ichigo says as Keigo opens his, "my name means 'One Who Protects', and anyone who calls me 'Strawberry' or 'Berry-Chan' will end up in the hospital.", he finishes with a fire-y glare. Rukia, Tatsuki, and Orihime are unmoved by this, but everyone else sweatdrops. He might be as scary as Rukia or Tatsuki, but he is still a force to be reckoned with.

…...(page break)...

As soon as the lunch bell rings, Uryu and Tatsuki drag Rukia off to a secluded corner of the school yard.

"Alright, Rukia, talk.", Tatsuki demands. "I know it wasn't a truck that ran into your house."

"Yeah, and what is up with your aura?", Uryu adds, "It's completely changed."

Rukia sighs, "I knew I wasn't going to avoid this." She then launches into the story of what happened last night. When she finishes, Tatsuki's eyes are wide with shock, but Uryu just looks pensive.

"So after six years of silence, the Hollows are attacking again.", he states calmly.

"Why do you sound like you already knew about all of this?", Rukia asks, a warning in her ice-y tone.

"Because my Grandfather taught me what my overprotective Father wouldn't. And I was also sworn to secrecy by Father so that you two could supposedly live normal lives. What the heck was I supposed to do, I was seven.", Uryu added at the girls twin glares.

"Arrgh. Why do our dads have to be so overprotective?!", Tatsuki shouts to the sky.

…...(page break)...

"Your friends seem interesting.", Ichigo says from behind an orange book that he is apparently reading. He is wearing black cargo pants and a tight fitting black tee shirt that shows of his abs and tattoo. He is leaning against a batting machine that is firing black and white baseballs at random intervals.

"You know," Rukia remarks, "I don't appreciate that you're reading porn while I'm working my ass off!", she accents the last word by hitting a black baseball with the baseball bat in her hands. The ground around them is littered with baseballs, both hit and missed. Her current attire is a pair of blue jeans and a Happy Bunny tee shirt.

"I keep telling you too only hit the white ones.", Ichigo replies, not looking up from his book and blatantly ignoring the comment about the porn.

"Why am I doing this again?", Rukia asks as she hits another baseball, white this time.

"The black balls represent hands, the white balls represent heads. In order to purify Hollows effectively, you must aim for the head every time."

"Rukia-Chan, Shiba-Kun!", comes an excited voice from the street. Ichigo and Rukia look up to see Orihime waving and walking over to them. She is wearing a pink, short sleeved blouse and a white skirt with a pink floral design. In her hand is a shopping bag.

"Hey, Orihime.", Rukia says, leaning on her bat and giving a light wave.

"Inoue-San, it's good to see you again.", Ichigo says, giving a slight bow. The book has mysteriously vanished.

"What are you guys doing here?", Orihime asks.

"Practicing my swing.", Rukia states.

"So you can beat up the bad guys and save all the ghosts as the superhero of the dead?", Orihime asks excitedly.

"Yep.", Rukia replies.

These last two comments leave Ichigo wide-eyed, both at Orihime's perceptiveness and at Rukia's calm reaction. Then he notices something on Orihime's leg.

"Orihime.", Ichigo says.

"Hmm?"

"That mark on you're leg. Can I examine it?", Ichigo asks.

"Oh, sure.", Orihime responds. Ichigo then kneels down to examine the dark bruise on her leg.

"Good grief, Orihime. What did you do this time?", Rukia asks in a tone that says this isn't the first time Orihime has had a serious injury.

"I almost got hit by a car.", Orihime replies, "No big deal."

"Wow. It looks like the universe is out to get you.", Rukia states calmly, leaving Ichigo to wonder at the girls' sanity as raises from his kneeling position.

"Yeah, it does, doesn't it.", Orihime replies before looking at her watch, "Oh, I've gotta go. Laugh Hour is almost on." And with that, Orihime runs off.

"Orihime.", Rukia sighs, placing a hand on her forehead.

"How does she know?", Ichigo asks.

"Orihime can be surprisingly perceptive sometimes. She probably sensed the change in my Reiryoku subconsciously."

"I take it she's Spiritually aware then."

"She can't see spirits like me, Tatsuki or Uryu, but she can sense their presence. Same goes for Chad. Keigo and Mizuiro are normal though."

"Wait, Tatsuki and Uryu can see spirits, too?"

"Yeah. It's one of the reasons why we're so close. Plus our dads all know each other."

Ichigo looks at his watch then. "It's getting late. We should pack up and head home, too."

While they are cleaning up, Rukia can't help but notice the thoughtful look on Ichigo's face.

…...(page break)...

Byakuya is sitting in the Clinic office, doing paperwork, when he hears a knock at the door.

"Come in.", Byakuya says as he turns his chair around to face the door. Ichigo walks in to see Byakuya still wearing his lab coat over his standard graphic tee and jeans.

"Tai- Ah, Byakuya, I was wondering if you could tell me anything about Orihime Inoue?", Ichigo asks. Byakuya eyes turn sad, proving Ichigo right in his assumption that there was more to the story then what Rukia told him.

"Why do you need to know?", Byakuya asks. He didn't like where this conversation was going.

"I think she was attacked by a Hollow this afternoon.", Ichigo replies.

Byakuya sighs before launching into the story. "Orihime had an older brother named Sora, who died three years ago. As far as I know she has no other family."

"How did he die?"

"He was run over by a drunk driver. He somehow managed to survive the initial hit and was brought to the clinic.", Byakuya paused to take a shaky breath. Ichigo could see wetness in his eyes. "I did everything I could to stabilize him, I even used Healing Kido, but he died of Hypovolemia before the ambulance could arrive to take him to the hospital." Silence pervaded the room for a few moments. Suddenly, Ichigo's Soul Pager goes off.

"What is it?", Byakuya asks as Ichigo looks at the screen.

"A Hollow will appear in Rukia's room in less then a minute.", Ichigo says before running up stairs, Byakuya following close behind.

…...(page break)...

Rukia is minding her own business, sitting on her bed and reading a manga while listening to her Ipod, when all of a sudden Ichigo comes bursting into her room. He then proceeds to thrust his right hand, which is in a strange red glove with a flaming skull, into her face. The next thing she knows, she's dodging a giant hand coming through a black void in her wall.

"What the hell!", Rukia exclaims as the Hollow pulls itself into her room. It looks almost like a naga.

"Talk later, fight now!", Ichigo shouts back.

Rukia swiftly dodges a sweep of the Hollow's claws before aiming a strike directly at it's mask. Her sword makes contact, but it only makes a small crack in the mask. _Too shallow_, Ichigo thinks to himself. A part of the mask crumbles away as the Hollow roars in pain. Ichigo hears a gasp coming from the door just before the Hollow disappears back through the void.

"Rukia," Byakuya says in a grave tone, "you need to go to Orihime's, now."

"Why?", Rukia asks.

"Because that was Sora Inoue, and Hollows almost always go after their family.", Byakuya replies. Rukia gets the point and immediately jumps out her window and runs toward Orihime's apartment. "Ichigo.", Ichigo looks at Byakuya, "Garage. Now."

…...(page break)...

"We are fighting dreamers. Takami wo mezashite.", Orihime sings as she does the dishes, "Fighting dreamers. Narifuri kamawazu. Fighting dreamers. Shinjiru ga mama ni. Oli oli oli oh! Just go my way." Suddenly a noise from the front room catches her notice. When she goes to investigate, she finds that the picture of her older brother is on the floor.

"Oh no!", Orihime exclaims as she runs over to the fallen portrait. She lifts it up to reveal a crack running right through his face. "Oh, Sora. Looks like I have to get you a new frame." Suddenly she feels an immense pressure on her chest, followed by intense pain causing her to black out. When she comes to, she sees shocking sight; her own body, laying across the room. Coming from her body is a long chain that is also attached to her own chest.

"W-what's going on?", Orihime, getting more terrified by the minute.

**"Orihime."**, says a voice from behind. Orihime turns around, yelps, and quickly backs away from the giant, snake-like monster.

"W-who are you, and h-how do y-you know my name?", Orihime stutters.

**"That makes me sad, Orihime. Don't you recognize my voice. It's me, can't you tell."**, the monster says, a hint of insanity in its voice.

"What are you talking about?"

**"It makes me sad, Orihime. Very, very sad!"**, the monster says, raising its arm up to strike. Orihime closes her eyes, not wanting to see her own death.

"Despicable, what kind of monster attacks his own sister."

Upon hearing that voice, Orihime immediately opens her eyes to see Rukia standing in front of her in a black outfit, blocking the monster's hand with a sword. Rukia then pushes the monster away. It howls in pain, clutching its bloody hand, before retreating through another black void.

"You alright, Orihime?", Rukia asks as she turns around to face her.

"Oh yes. I'm fine.", Orihime replies. She notices that Rukia is looking at her chest then at her body.

"Good, the chain's still attached.", Rukia says quietly.

"What do you mean..." Before Orihime can finish, the monster comes back. It roars before grabbing Orihime's chain and lifting her up. Rukia takes a swing at his tail, but it's to tough, and she winds up getting knocked out the window.

Outside, Ichigo and Byakuya arrive on Byakuya's black Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, just in time to see Rukia slide across the air as if it was solid ground.

"She's had her powers for one day and she's already capable of creating Reishi Platforms.", Ichigo remarks.

"Were you expecting anything less from my daughter.", Byakuya says in return, a hint of pride in his voice.

"You going to help?"

"No. I want to see how she handles this." Just then, the Hollow Sora appears in the hole in the side of the building.

**"Stay back."**, Hollow Sora says as he holds up Orihime. Orihime lets out a gasp of pain.

"Orihime!", Rukia shouts. Hollow Sora takes advantage of the distraction to swing his tail at her. Rukia manages to dodge, but just barely.

"Rukia!", Ichigo shouts from the street below. Byakuya's eyes narrow in concern.

"Rukia.", Orihime whispers.

**"Orihime, have you really forgotten me?"**

"Huh.", Orihime says softly, looking back at the monster. She notices its eyes. Before, they were black with gold irises, but now the look human, white with gray irises, just like... "Sora."

"**I was so lonely, Orihime."**, Hollow Sora says, **"You had forgotten about me. And it's all your fault!"**, he redirects to Rukia, **"You and that other girl took Orihime away from me! Once I devour you, there will be nothing keeping us from being together forever!"**

With that, he drops Orihime and lounges at Rukia through the ruined window. Rukia dodges the initial charge by performing a flip over his back, slicing up his tail in the process. He attempts to backhand her, but she cuts off his hand. Hollow Sora then spits acid on her hands, causing Rukia to drop her sword and fall to the ground, the searing pain making it impossible for her to concentrate on maintaining the Reishi Platforms. She lands on her feet and stand up, but Hollow Sora is moving to fast for her to dodge. But suddenly, he stops. Orihime managed to get in between them and is now clutching her Hollowfied older brother, her bloody shoulder still in his mouth.

"Orihime.", Rukia says, eyes wide with shock,and she's not the only one. Off to the side, Ichigo is off the Ninja, mouth agape as he tries to process what just happened. Byakuya has also dismounted the Ninja, and is now making his way to Rukia. Those burns aren't going to heal on there own.

**"Orihime, why?"**

"Because I couldn't let you kill my friend over a misunderstanding."

**"What"**

"Ever since you died, I've always been able to sense you near by, watching over me. Like yesterday, when you pulled me out of the way of that car earlier."

"That explains it.", Ichigo says. He is now standing beside Rukia and Byakuya. Byakuya had his hands over Rukia's, a pale green light enveloping them.

"One day, I realized that if I kept depending on you, then you would never find peace. So you see. I didn't forget about you, Nii-San. I was trying to show you that I was happy and that you didn't need to worry about me anymore. I never dreamed that it would make you so sad and lonely. I'm sorry, Nii-San." At this, Orihime collapses.

**"Orihime!"**, Sora shouts before he screams in pain. He clutches his head and starts thrashing about.

"What's wrong with him?", Rukia asks.

"He is fighting his Hollow half.", Byakuya replies, watching Sora with what almost looks like empathy, "He obviously was forced to become a Hollow."

"What do you mean, forced?", Rukia asks.

"When a strong Hollow consumes a soul, he is then able to manipulate that soul.", Ichigo replies.

"Right now," Byakuya continues, "Sora is desperately trying to fight off that Hollow. For his sister's sake."

Suddenly, Sora's mask brakes, revealing his human face. His body seems to shrink dramatically, and while he still holds the form of a naga, overall he is less intimidating.

"Orihime!", he exclaims upon seeing her on the ground.

"Don't worry," Ichigo says, walking towards them, "she's not dead. Her Inga no Kusari is still attached. I can restore her to her body." Ichigo leans down to pick Orihime up, and that is when Sora notices something.

"Those hair pins...", he says in shock.

"They were a gift from you, weren't they?", Rukia asks. She and Byakuya had walked up behind Ichigo. "She wears them every single day."

Sora is rendered speechless by this, but he then smiles before turning around, face turned serious. He grabs hold of Rukia's Zanpakto.

"What are you doing?", Rukia asks.

"It's only a matter of time before the Hollow takes over again.", Sora states, "I'm going to end this before that happens." Sora then puts the Zanpakto to his chest.

"But-"

"Rukia, calm down.", Byakuya says, "He's doing the right thing."

"How is killing himself the right thing?", Rukia asks, rather loudly.

"Rukia, when did I ever say we kill Hollows?", Ichigo asks rhetorically, "A Shinigami's Zanpakto is used to purify a Hollow's soul, allowing them to pass on to Soul Society."

Sora nods at this,and proceeds to thrust the Zanpakto through his chest. He starts to dissolve, but be for he is completely gone, Orihime manages to get one final word in.

"Good bye, Nii-San." And with that, Sora leaves the world with a smile.

…...(page break)...

**Omake**

…...(page break)...

**Gin's Outtakes**

"Hello, everyone," Gin says happily, "and welcome to another exciting installment of Gin's Outtakes. Now, unfortunately, Elder Dragon couldn't be with us today. She is currently trying to brake up a fight between Kenpachi Zaraki and Kisame Hoshigaki. Ooh, that is one fight I would _not_ want to be involved in.", Gin pauses a moment and shudders, "Anyway, Dragon did leave me with a DVD to watch. It's a deleted scene that didn't make it into the final cut. How about we pop this baby in and enjoy." Gin then places the DVD into the hidden DVD player and directs his attention to the TV.

…...(start scene)...

Byakuya and Ichigo are speeding down the road on Byakuya's motorcycle when, suddenly, a large Hollow jumps into the path. Byakuya swerves to a stop to avoid running into it. The Hollow has the appearance of an American werewolf.

**"I can't let you pass, Shinigami."**, the Hollow says,** "We have to give Acidwire time to work."**

"I'll handle this.", Ichigo says as he gets off the bike.

"You sure?", Byakuya asks.

"Are you kidding?", Ichigo exclaims in offense, "This guy's pathetic."

**"Don't underestimate me, Shinigami. I'll have you know-"** The Hollow is interrupted mid-rant by a smooth round house kick to the face. The Hollow lands against a near by building with a grunt. When the world stops spinning around it, the Hollow finds an index finger pointing right at the bridge of it's nose.

"Hado #4; Byakurai." A beam of light shoots from Ichigo's finger, straight through the Hollow's skull. The Hollow begins to dissolve as Ichigo makes his way over to Byakuya.

"That was fast.", Byakuya states as Ichigo gets back on the bike.

"Like I said, he was pathetic.", Ichigo replies, "Now, lets get moving. Rukia might need our help."

…...(stop scene)...

"And that goes to show that even at a fraction of his power, Ichigo is still a power house.", Gin says, "Well, that's all the time we have for today. Bye bye.

…...(page break)...

**Glossary**

**-Yuki-onna **(_Snow Woman_): A spirit or yokai in Japanese folklore. Typically take the form of a beautiful woman in a white kimono, walking around in a snow storm. In many stories, Yuki-onna are said to mercilessly kill travelers lost in a snow storm by freezing them to death. Good thing Rukia's Zanpakto isn't like that, right?

**-Naga **(_Cobra Deity_): A race of deities in Hindu and Buddhist tradition. Typically take the form of a man from the waist up, and a serpent from the waist down.

**-Furisode kimono **: A kimono with really long sleeves

**-Dou **: Samurai iron chest plate

**-Suneate **: Samurai shin guards made with iron splints

**-Kogake **: Armored tabi

-**Hypovolemia **: The most common form of Circulatory shock. Often caused by hemorrhaging, both internal and external.

**-Reishi Platform **: A technique in which Shinigami manipulate spirit particles to form small platforms under their feet, giving the appearance that they are floating in mid-air.

**-Inga no Kusari **(_Chain of Fate_): the chain that binds souls to their living bodies. Encroachment of the chain causes Pluses to become Hollows

-**Hado #4; Byakurai **(_Pale Lightning_): incantation unknown; The practitioner gathers high-density Reiryoku, which they discharge through both hands. Alternatively, the practitioner can use one index finger, focusing the blast.

**Most definitions come from Wikipedia and Bleach Wiki.**


	3. Enter the Tiger

**Disclaimer:** Bleach is owned by Tite Kudo, not by me. If I owned Bleach, Zangetsu would have gotten a lot more screen time. I also would not have written the Quincy Arc, the old man deserves better than that.

**Spoilers:** Soul Society, Bount, Arrancar, & Hueco Mundo Arcs

**Genre:** Adventure, Action, Humor, Supernatural

**Warnings:** Swearing, violence, romance, and implied intimate relationships later on.

Werebane: Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it

Zanka no Tachi 31: Thank you for pointing out the editing issues. 'sigh' That's what happens when you get too exited and don't read through the chapter before publishing. The rest of your review shall be answered in the Outtakes, so don't worry, I'm not ignoring that.

Hello, peasants. Elder Dragon here, back for another installment of White Out. Before we start, I must apologize for something; I've misspelled Zanpakuto, several times. Please forgive me, that will be corrected from now on. Okay, now to the important stuff. First point: I have come to an executive decision involving reviews for my stories. Those of you that review saying complements and constructive criticism shall be answered in the top A/N. Those of you that review with a question or concern about the plot shall be answered in the Outtakes section of the Omake, so be sure to read the whole thing, you may get an answer to a question you were thinking about asking. Second point: this chapter uses the Hero's Sick Day plot. If you don't know what that is, it is when the main protagonist becomes incapacitated and the other characters have to fend for themselves. If you don't like this, I apologize, but please don't flame me for my decisions. Third point: Warning, Hot and semi-naked Ichigo fresh out da shower. If you don't like, then why the hell are you on this site. Like 3/4's of the fics here are people having make out sessions, often times with the same sex. A hot guy walking out of a shower seems pretty tame next to that.

Okay, enough ranting, on with the story.

…...(page break)...

**White Out**

**Chapter 3: Enter the Tiger**

…...(page break)...

"A cursed cockatiel, for real?", a boy asks as a siren goes off in the distance. The boy has shoulder length blond hair and light stubble on his chin.

"Yeah. All the people who have owned this bird have gotten into horrible situation and died." replies another boy with black hair in a crew cut. He is currently holding a bird cage containing the subject of their conversation.

"Whoa, seriously? Not a good omen.", the blond boy says.

"So, Shigeo, you want 'im?", the black-haired boy asks.

"Do I look that stupid, Goro?", Shigeo replies.

"Well, what about you Chad?", Goro asks a third boy, Yasutora Sado, while holding the cage up in front of him, "Don't you think he's cute?"

"Hey, knock it of.", Shigeo says, "You know Chad's got a weakness for cute things."

Chad is ignoring the conversation, and instead focusing his attention on the bird. Something feels off about it.

**Creak**

"What was that?", Shigeo asks as the bird starts freaking out. The noise happens again and he looks up just in time to see a steel beam falling off the ledge above them and heading straight for them.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

**Crash**

…...(page break)...

** "Damn it. What the hell is up with that human. No human should be able to stand up to that much weight. And is that Hollow Reiryoku I'm sensing from him. Hmm, looks like this hunt is going to be interesting."**

…...(page break)...

The boys look up from their fetal positions to see that Chad has blocked the steel beam with his back.

"Uh, Chad, are you alright?", Shigeo asks.

"Yeah. I think I'm okay.", Chad says as he lifts his head to reveal blood trickling down his face.

"Then how come you're bleeding?!", Goro exclaims.

"Thank you for saving me.", says a small voice. They all look down to see that the cockatiel just spoke. "Hello, my name is Yuichi Shibata. What's your name, Onii-San?"

"That bird is talking like it's a person.", Shigeo states. Goro just stares, dumbfounded.

"I'd really like to know your name, Onii-San.", Yuichi says.

"Yasutora Sado.", Chad replies simply.

"And now Chad's talking back to it."

…...(page break)...

Ichigo is sitting alone on the roof of the school, thinking about what has happened over the past few days that he's been here. The Inoue incident wasn't something he would have liked to test Rukia with, but he's glad she made it through mostly unscathed, except for that burn on her arm, and that was easily healed. After that, the Hollows were nothing but small fry.

No, the real shock was when Ichigo discovered that the Memory Modifier didn't work on Orihime. The Modifier worked perfectly that night, but the next morning, Orihime came up to Rukia, asking if that night really happened. Ichigo had no other choose but to swear her to secrecy, and Orihime completely understood, and even come up with an outlandish story to cover for why her apartment was in shambles. Something about a bazooka-wielding sumo wrestler. Ichigo shakes his head at the thought of it. Orihime has such an overactive imagination.

After that, it's been pretty straight forward, up until this morning. Ichigo sighs, thinking about what happened.

…...(whoo, flashback)...

_Rukia walks out of her room, feeling incredibly sore and dizzy, and not paying any attention to where she's going. Suddenly, she walks into something solid and wet._

_ "Sorry.", she says as she backs up a few steps. When she looks up, she sees what is possibly the hottest bod she has ever laid eyes upon._

_ "You should really watch where you're going.", Ichigo says, but Rukia isn't paying attention to what he's saying; she's to busy watching a water droplet drop from his usually bright and spiky hair, now a shade darker and laying almost flat on his head thanks to the added moisture. The droplet lands on his large pectoral before sliding down his well defined eight-pack and disappearing down the towel wrapped so low on his hips that she can see a hint of orange pubic hair. _So that really is his natural hair color_, runs through her head before she passes out._

_ Ichigo sighs in frustration. Just once, he would like for women to not faint at the sight of him just out of the bath. When he doesn't see the usual nose bleed, he becomes concerned, though. He kneels down next to her and places the back of his hand to the flushed skin of her neck. His eyes go wide._

_ "TAICHO!", Ichigo shouts, anxiety lasing his voice. Rukia has a very high fever._

…...(flashback done)...

"Hey, Ichigo-San.", Mizuiro says as he walks up to Ichigo, carrying a bento and a water bottle. He is closely followed by Keigo, Tatsuki, Orihime,and Uryu, each carrying there own bento.

"Hey, guys.", Ichigo replies while picking up his own bento.

"So, where's Rukia?", Tatsuki asks as they all take their seats around him.

"Yeah, isn't she usually with you?", Uryu puts in.

"WAIT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'THEY'RE USUALLY TOGETHER'?", Keigo shouts, "ARE YOU TWO GOING OUT?"

"Rukia's home sick today.", Ichigo replies, completely ignoring Keigo.

Orihime comes up to Ichigo and crouches in front of him as Mizuiro goes to comfort Keigo, who ran off to curl up in a corner, tears running down his face.

"Is it because of the ghosts?", she asks in a whisper, holding her hand up to the side of her face so that no one could read her lips.

"No," Ichigo replies, just as quietly, "It's just a cold."

"That's good to know.", Uryu says, "It would be bad if some Hollow poisoned her."

Ichigo's eyes narrow as he replies, "I take it Rukia told you."

"Just about everything.", Tatsuki replies before taking a bite out of her sandwich. "And if it makes you feel any better," she continues around the food in her mouth before swallowing, "we probably would have figured it out eventually if she hadn't."

Ichigo sighs. Rukia did tell him that Uryu and Tatsuki are Spiritually aware. It makes sense that she would tell them. Ichigo puts the thought aside for the moment and opens his bento. Inside is three _inarizushi_, two _onigiri_, and a strange box with a picture of a fruit on it, along with a note from Byakuya.

_Ichigo, I took the liberty of making you a homemade lunch rather then having those blasted cup noodles that you've been eating for the last few days. Byakuya._

_ P.S. The box is a popular fruit drink in the World of the Living. To open it, stick the sharp end of the straw through the gray circle on the top._

Ichigo picks the box up and flips it over to see what must be the straw, wrapped in a plastic and stuck to the back of the box. He pulls it off and removes the wrapping. He then looks at the box to find the gray circle. Seeing it, he pokes the straw through it. (;p) He then puts the straw in his mouth and takes a sip. It tastes like a mixture of different fruits, and Ichigo can see why it's so popular.

"So, Ichigo," Mizuiro asks, having successfully cheered Keigo up, "are you going out with anyone? I bet you would be quite the ladies' man."

"Ugh!", Ichigo exclaims in exasperation, leaning his head back against the fence and placing a hand over his eyes, "Please don't ask me about that."

"Why?", Mizuiro asks, a look of innocent concern on his face that is shared by everybody in the group.

Ichigo sighs and rubs his hand down his face before answering, "Lets just say that while, no, I don't have a girlfriend, there are several girls back home that would love to fill the slot."

"Wait, that's it?", Keigo asks loudly before bursting into laughter.

"It's not funny.", Ichigo says indignantly, but Keigo kept laughing, to the point that he would have fallen over backwards if not for the pair of legs right behind him.

"Huh.", Keigo says as he looks up to see Chad standing over him. He has quite a few bandages on his face and hands.

"Hey, Chad."Tatsuki says.

Chad raises his hand and grunts in response.

"So, Chad," Uryu asks while adjusting his glasses, "care to tell us what happened this time."

_This time_, Ichigo thinks as he takes in the bandages,_ If I'm being honest with myself, those are not the worst injuries I've seen, but humans are so much more fragile than Shinigami. Is this guy seriously taking this kind of damage on a regular basis._

"I had a mishap.", Chad replies, "A steel beam fell on my head."

"A steel beam!", Keigo shouts. Ichigo raises an eyebrow. Uryu just sighs.

"My hand got hurt when a motorcycle ran into me.", Chad continues, "The rider that hit me got banged up pretty bad, I guess the collision threw him off, so I picked him up and carried him to the hospital."

"Well, that explains why you were late.", Tatsuki says before taking another bite of her sandwich.

_Good grief, _Ichigo thinks, a dead pan look on his face, _this guy's as durable as Kenpachi. _He's interrupted in his musings when Chad places a bird cage on the ground.

"Hey, where'd you get the bird?", Keigo asks.

"Hello, my name's Yuichi Shibata. It's nice to meet you.", the bird says. Ichigo, Uryu, Tatsuki, and Orihime all stiffen as the bird continues, "What's your name?"

"Wow, that's amazing.", Keigo says excitedly, leaning down in front of the bird cage, "The way this bird talks is incredible. My names Keigo Asano. Can you say that?"

"That bird.", Orihime starts, putting a hand over her mouth.

"Hey, Chad," Ichigo asks, "where did you get the cockatiel?"

"Someone... gave me him.", Chad answers.

"Whoa! Hold on a minute!", Keigo exclaims, "There you go again with your bad habit! You can't just cut the story short like that! Details, man, details!"

"But that was the whole story.", Chad replies.

"That bird has a human soul in it.", Uryu states as Keigo continues his rant.

"Yeah.", Ichigo replies.

"How is that possible?", Orihime asks.

"The most likely scenario is that the boy was attached to the bird in life and so became bound to it in death.", Ichigo explains, "We'll have to perform Konso on him later."

"Why not now?", Tatsuki asks.

"Rukia's home sick, remember.", Ichigo replies, "She's the one with the power."

"Oh.", Tatsuki replies sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. She then looks at Chad and chuckles lightly.

"What's so funny?", Ichigo asks, a bit of humor in his eyes.

"Oh, just remembering when we first meet Chad.", Tatsuki replies, "Hey, Uryu, you remember, right?"

"How could I forget," Uryu answers, "he had eight guys trying to beat him up, and he wouldn't lift a finger to defend himself."

"Yeah," Tatsuki continues, "so me and Rukia took out the thugs while Uryu checked him for injuries."

"So he didn't fight back?", Ichigo asks.

"Sado-Kun never fights back when it's for himself," Orihime answers, "but the moment someone else is in danger, he becomes the Defender of Justice.", she finishes with a fist thrust into the air.

"That sounds a bit like some of my friends.", Ichigo says, "They don't like fighting and will avoid it when ever possible, but the moment you threaten one of their friends, they're a force to be reckoned with."

"Wow, I'd like to meet these friends of yours someday.", Tatsuki says.

_Yeah, and hopefully I can see them again soon,_ Ichigo thinks to himself, homesickness making its way into his heart.

…...(page break)...

"I'm back.", Ichigo calls as he enters the clinic.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S NO ROOM!", Byakuya shouts from his office in the back. As he rushes to see what's wrong, Ichigo passes a room full of injured people, the few volunteer nurses that work at the clinic struggling with the work load.

When Ichigo makes it to the office, he finds Byakuya in his white lab coat, shouting into the phone, "You listen to me! We have four cars worth of crash victims, many of them suffering from severe trauma! We're only a small clinic! We're not equipped to handle this!", there is a slight pause when the person on the other end answers, "Well, you know what! Tell Ishida-Sensei that this is a request from Byakuya Kurosaki! That should clear up some beds real fast! Just do it!", Byakuya finishes before slamming the phone onto the receiver.

"Taicho?", Ichigo asks hesitantly.

"Damn dobe wouldn't know stethoscope from a cellphone."

"Taicho,what happened?", Ichigo asks again, this time with more confidence.

"A four car pile-up! That's what happened!", Byakuya snaps.

"Is there anything I can do to help?", Ichigo asks, now somewhat nervous. He remembers what can happen when Byakuya gets mad.

"Yes.", Byakuya says, in that same honey-and-venom tone that Ichigo heard Rukia use before, "You can curl up in a corner and stay out of the way." With that, Byakuya leaves the room, and Ichigo proceeds to curl up in the corner, a gray fog of depression surrounding him.

"Kurosaki-Sensei, we have another patient.", one of the volunteer nurses says as Byakuya comes out from the back office.

"Thank you, Miho.", Byakuya says before he gets a good look at the man that the nurse is supporting. He is wearing a floral pattern shirt and beige slacks, and looks vaguely familiar, "You're Rukia's friend, Yasutora-Kun, aren't you?"

"Hello, Kurosaki-San.", Chad replies.

"Well, lets get you looked at, shall we.", Byakuya says as he puts Chad's arm around his shoulder and Miho goes off to help another patient. Byakuya then notices the bird cage in Chad's left hand. Upon seeing the bird, Byakuya's eyes widen. The memories flowing from the boy are almost unbearable. A boy that age should not have to go through such an ordeal. Byakuya wishes he could comfort the boy, but he can't. He has a patient that needs to be tended to.

"I'm going to need you to take off your shirt.", Byakuya says as he sits Chad down on one of the chairs in the examination room. When Chad takes his shirt off, it reveals three massive, ragged claw marks that, to Byakuya's eyes, are pulsating with Hollow Reiryoku.

_So he was attacked by a Hollow,_ Byakuya muses as he sends a burst of Healing Kido through Chad's wound to dissipate the Hollow Reiryoku before stitching up the gashes. However, even after the Kido, there was still a trace left, but it feels different. _Is that Fullbring?_ he asks himself as he finishes up.

"Thank you, Kurosaki-San. I'm fine now.", Chad says as he gets up and puts his shirt back on.

"No, you are not.", Byakuya says in a firm tone, "You've lost to much blood to be...", Byakuya is interrupted by Chad falling forward, "I tried to tell you.", he sighs before getting up and moving over to the prone figure.

"Kurosaki-Sensei, what was that?", a male nurse asks from the doorway.

"Don't worry, Ryou.", Byakuya says as he bends over to pick Chad up, "It was just a stubborn patient. Can you assist me in moving him to one of the rooms?"

Together, Byakuya and the nurse manage to get Chad into one of the patient rooms, the nurse considerately grabbing the bird cage along the way. Once they have him settled on his stomach, so as not to disturb the sutures on his back, they leave the room, and the nurse goes to assist the other patients. Once he is out of sight, Byakuya places a Kido barrier on the room. He then heads to his office, where Ichigo is still curled up in the corner. The depressed atmosphere is gone, replaced be a serious look on his face.

"You felt that.", Byakuya states.

"Yeah.", Ichigo replies. "I was hoping it was just a lonely boy that possessed his pet cockatiel, but this is definitely Shrieker's M.O."

Byakuya sighs, "Rukia is still too sick to leave her bed, and I have patients that need to be taken care of, so we will have to perform Konso first thing tomorrow morning, and then I shall assist you in hunting down Shrieker once I've found someone to look after Rukia."

Ichigo nods his agreement before leaving the office and heading upstairs. Byakuya then goes to see to his patients.

Meanwhile, in Chad's room, Chad is staring intently at Yuichi, who has his head bowed in shame.

…...(page break)...

Byakuya is making his early morning rounds in the clinic. He stops at Chad's room, both to check on the sutures and to perform Konso on the boy. When he removes the Kido and opens the door, he finds that both Chad and the bird are gone.

Ichigo, meanwhile, is in the kitchen, wearing blue jeans and a tee shirt with the number fifteen written on it, eating a piece of toast, when he senses Byakuya's panic in his Reiatsu. Moments later, Byakuya bursts into the room, eyes wide with panic.

"Yasutora's gone.", is all that he says.

"How did that happen?", Ichigo asks as he gets up from the table, his own panic starting to rise.

"I did not anticipate him being able to move so soon after such an injury, so the barrier I used was only meant to keep intruders out, not keep him in.", Byakuya replies in a rush.

"We have to go after him."

"I can't leave Rukia alone."

Ichigo muses on the problem for a moment before coming up with a solution. "I'll go alone. I can hold off Shrieker until you can find someone to look after Rukia." With that Ichigo heads to the door.

"Ichigo-Kun, are you sure?", Byakuya asks as Ichigo is just in the doorway.

Ichigo turns around and gives Byakuya a reassuring look, "Taicho, since you left, I've been promoted to Fourth Seat, and Uncle Jyuushiro has been offering me the position of Fukutaicho for twenty years now.", and with that, Ichigo exits the house and is off running down the street, and Byakuya is left wondering just how much has changed since he left Soul Society.

A few streets down, Ichigo stops for a moment to concentrate. Within seconds, he is surrounded by a blue aura. Then, hundreds of white ribbons appear in the air around him.

"Found you.", he says as he grabs one of the ribbons. As the ribbons dissipate, Ichigo heads off in a different direction.

…...(page break)...

"You've been really nice, Onii-San," Yuichi says. Chad grunts in response. They have just entered a construction site.

"But I need to apologize and help you understand something.", Yuichi continues, "Everyone who has ever owned me has had really bad luck."

"Yeah," Chad replies, "I know."

"I'm sorry.", Yuichi says as they enter a large building that looks like it was once a factory, "I should have told you. It's not..."

"Don't worry about it.", Chad cuts in.

"Onii-San, please forgive me," Yuichi continues, "and abandon me. Just leave me here and go."

"I can't do that to you.", Chad replies. He then moves to sit under one of the ground-level windows. "I think we lost him."

"Listen, Onii-San, you're in danger!", Yuichi exclaims.

"Don't worry," Chad says, "I'll be fine. If anything, I should be sturdy enough to handle this." Suddenly, Chad hears a creaking in the rafters above. When he looks up, he sees the outline of something large that is heading straight for them. He manages to dodge out of the way just before the thing lands.

"He's found us.", Chad says as he runs for the window opposite them, "We better get out of here."

"Onii-San!", Yuichi exclaims

"Don't worry. We're gonna make it.", Chad says just before he charges through the window with a crash.

…...(page break)...

Ichigo is running down the street when he sees Chad rounding the corner just ahead of him. Chad stops and looks at him for a second before running in the opposite direction.

"Hey, Chad wait up!", Ichigo shouts as he takes off after him. Ichigo stumbles but quickly rights himself. _Damn Gigai. Even at one twelfth my normal strength it can't handle my power._

**"Hey, you smell good."**, says a voice from out of nowhere. Ichigo stops and looks around, trying to locate the Hollow. **"You smell wonderful."**, the Shrieker says, appearing over Ichigo's shoulder. He is a frog-like Hollow with what appear to be bat wings sprouting out of his upper arms. **"Simply delicious. Time to eat your soul."**, he finishes, only to be thrown backwards a good five feet. **"Ow! What the hell! That hurt!"**

"A word of advice," Ichigo says, his foot still in the air from when he kicked Shrieker in the gut, "you shouldn't monologue, it gives your enemies time to recover."

**"Why, you little..."**. The Hollow charges forward.

"Seppa.", Ichigo says, tracing a swirling pattern on the ground with his foot before stamping down with the same foot. He then jumps over Shrieker, using his head as a springboard. The force of it sends Shrieker straight into the sand pit Ichigo just created. Turning in mid air, Ichigo holds his hands out in front of him and begins reciting.

"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws. Hado # 33: Sokatsui!" A large wave of blue flame shoots out from Ichigo's palms and makes direct contact with Shrieker's back as he attempts to get out of the sand pit.

**"Arrgh!"**, Shrieker shouts before falling back into the sand pit. **"You little fucker. You'll pay for that."**

…...(page break)...

"What's that?", Chad asks as he hears crashes off in the distance.

"It's attacking him.", Yuichi says, distressed.

"Hmm?"

"That man that was chasing us earlier. The monster is attacking him right now. It's going to hurt him really bad."

"You stay here," Chad says as he puts the birdcage down on the ground, "I gotta go."

"What are you going to do?", Yuichi asks.

"I'm going to help him.", Chad states simply.

"Wait, please.", Yuichi pleads, flapping his wings, "Don't go. It's not safe." Chad picks up the cage and puts it on a nearby wall. "No, no. It's not me I'm worried about. It's you. I don't care what happens to me, but you're nice, Onii-San. I don't want to see you get hurt." Yuichi's voice goes up in pitch as Chad waves and starts running off, "He's a monster, and you won't even be able to see him. He'll kill you. Please stop.", but it's to late, Chad's already gone.

…...(page break)...

"Missed me.", Ichigo says in a jovial manner as he performs an impressive triple back flip to avoid Shrieker's wild punches.

**"Damn you, Shinigami. I've already consumed two of your kind and you're stuck in that meat suit to boot. Why are you so difficult to kill?"**

"Because those two Shinigami you ate were Unseated Officers," Ichigo replies as he sticks a perfect landing, "and I am a Fourth Seat. Now, wanna tell me why you've been using that boy as bait."

**"For the fun of it of course."**, Shrieker replies, sick glee apparent in his voice. Ichigo clenches his fists in anger. He is about ready to punch this guy's lights out, until someone else does it for him.

**"Ack!"**, Shrieker screams as he is flung through the air a second time.

"I hit something.", Chad says as he looks at his fist, "Alright."

"Nice shoot.", Ichigo says, thoroughly impressed, until Chad starts punching thin air.

**"He he he, it was just a lucky punch. He scared me for a second there. I thought he could see me."**, Shrieker says, right before he gets punched in the face again.

"Alright. I got him again."

Ichigo starts laughing, "Man, that was awesome. You landed two solid punches on an enemy you can't even see. That takes some serious guts." Chad merely grunts in reply.

**"Damn you!"**, Shrieker yells, just before he spreads his wings and takes to the sky, **"I'd like to see you hit me now, you pathetic human."**

"New guy, can you see ghosts?", Chad asks.

"Yeah.", Ichigo replies calmly.

"Where is he now?"

"In the air right above you.", Ichigo answers, curious to see what Chad's going to do about it.

Chad runs over to a nearby telephone pole, and then, with a yell, Chad yanks the pole straight out of the ground.

**"What the hell is up with this human!"**, Shrieker exclaims as Ichigo once again bursts into laughter.

"Which way?", Chad asks, having no trouble holding up the massive amount of weight.

"Bring it straight down.", Ichigo says through his fit of laughter. And with another yell, Chad brings the pole down on Shrieker's head.

**"Oh crap."**, Shrieker says just before the pole makes contact, driving him into the ground.

"I'd give up now if I were you.", Ichigo says with a smirk on his face as he walks up behind Chad and pats him on the back, "There's another Shinigami on his way to finish you off."

**"You think you're so clever, Shinigami,"** Shrieker says as he slowly gets up. Ichigo is becoming mildly concerned now, **"but I wonder if you'll be able to handle this. Come on, boys."**

Ichigo turns around quickly to see a bunch of little blue frog-mushroom-things coming straight at them. He performs a swift round house kick to deflect them from himself, but Chad, being unable to see them, didn't know to dodge.

"Chad!", Ichigo shouts in concern as Chad is knocked to the ground by the force of the hit and subsequently held down by the disgusting little things.

**"What do ya think of them apples, Shinigami?"**, Shrieker shouts in glee, **"Those little guys are the reason for my success. They...What the hell!"** With another yell, Chad throws the leeches off of him, then proceeds to throw another punch at Shrieker, which Shrieker barely manages to avoid by jumping in the air again. **"What the hell is this guy?"**

"Chad, if you ever graduate from Shin'o Academy," Ichigo says with a light chuckle, "you make sure to join Division Seven. They could use more guys like you."

Chad grunts in response, then asks, "Where is he now?"

"He's up in the air again, but don't worry. I have a plan.", Ichigo replies with a devious smile.

…...(page break)...

"Hey, new guy, are you sure about this?", Chad asks.

"Hey, relax," Ichigo replies, that same smile still on his face "I've done this before."

Chad raises an eyebrow at this. He is currently holding Ichigo, who is doing his best impersonation of a cannon ball. "If you say so.", Chad finally replies.

"Alright, a little to the left.", Ichigo says, directing Chad on where to aim, "Whoa, to much. Back to the right a bit. Up a little. Perfect. Now, on my mark..."

**"You can't hit me all the way up here with a telephone pole, so whatever you're planning..."**

"Fire!",Ichigo shouts, and Chad launches him into the air.

**"WHAAAAAAAA!"** Ichigo is heading straight for Shrieker. Just as Ichigo is about to collide with him, he turns in mid air and performs a downward kick, sending Shrieker right into the asphalt. Ichigo lands gracefully a few feet away from him.

"Ready to give up yet.", Ichigo asks.

** "Not on your life, you little brat!"**, Shrieker yells as he gets up, **"Take this!"** Suddenly, the heads of all the little frog-mushroom-things split open, and out come a bunch of purple leeches. Ichigo avoids most of them by dodging backwards, but one manages to latch onto his head.

"Gah! What the hell is this thing?!", Ichigo exclaims as he tries to pull it off.

**"That's one of my leeches. Try all you want. It ain't coming off. Oh, and they can be quite... explosive!"**, Shrieker says as he sticks out his tongue, which resembles a tuning fork. His tongue starts vibrating, and the leech on Ichigo's head explodes.

"Aah!", Ichigo stumbles a bit but remains standing. The left side of his head is covered in blood.

"Ichigo!", Chad shouts in concern.

"I'm fine, Chad.", Ichigo says reassuringly, although the effect is slightly ruined by the heavy panting, "It's just a head wound."

**"Just a head wound, you say."**, Shrieker says, highly amused, **"I'm surprised you're still standing, but I guess it wouldn't be any fun if you were a weakling."**

"Why you...", Ichigo says as he starts moving forward.

**"Ah ah ah. I wouldn't do that if I were you."**, Shrieker says while shaking his finger, **"We wouldn't want the little birdy to blow up, now, would we?"** Shrieker points behind him. Yuichi is there, with three of those frog-mushroom-things hanging off of his cage.

"Yuichi!", Chad shouts.

"I'm sorry, Onii-San.", Yuichi says.

**"Now, if you two play nice and don't move, the kid stays in one piece. You got that?"**

"Chad, stay where you are.", Ichigo says in a small voice, laced with worry, "If we move, he'll kill Yuichi."

"Not if we have anything to say about it, bastard!", shouts a new voice just before a ball of reddish-orange energy hits the street right in front of Shrieker, making him jump backwards to avoid getting hit. A shaft of blue energy follows shortly afterward, hitting the street right behind Shrieker, causing him to fall forward while flailing comically.

"I'm sorry I got here so late, Ichigo-Kun." Byakuya says as he appears in front of Ichigo and Chad, his back turned towards them. He changed out of the lab coat and is now wearing his fedora, along with his usual dark jeans and graphic tee. In his right hand is Yuichi's cage, now free of the bombs. In his left hand is his Zanpakto. It is a standard katana in a white sheath, with a tsuba that has an open frame resembling a four pane window, and a black hilt with lavender wrapping.

Accompanying Byakuya are two men that Ichigo has never seen before. One is standing off to the right of Shrieker. He is about 6', with spiky black hair and blue eyes. He is wearing a white gi with a black belt and no shoes. The other man is standing on a wall to the left and a little behind Shrieker. He is about 5'10'', with white hair and blue eyes behind a pair of glasses. He is wearing a gray suit, a light blue shirt, and a tie with a bunch of crosses on it. In his hand is a white bow.

"Taicho, who are these guys?", Ichigo asks as Chad takes Yuichi from Byakuya.

"These are my friends, Ryuken Ishida," Byakuya nods his head toward the white-haired man, "and Tatsuhiro Arisawa.", the black-haired man, "They felt my Reiatsu on the move and decided they wanted in on the action."

"Good grief, Bya-Kun. You didn't have to put it so bluntly.", Tatsuhiro says in a jovial tone, a smirk playing across his face.

"I, personally, don't know what you're talking about.", Ryuken says matter-of-factually, adjusting his glasses, "I just happened to be in the neighborhood and thought I would lend my assistance."

"'In the neighborhood' my ass," Tatsuhiro accuses, smirk still in place, "You just wanted to feel the old rush again."

"Like you're any better.", Ryuken retorts, "At least I had the forethought to put on a pair of shoes."

**"Are these guys seriously having an argument in the middle of a fight?"**, Shrieker asks.

Byakuya sighs and puts his face in his hand. Ichigo is thinking '_What the fuck.'_, Yuichi cocks his head to the side, and Chad just stares.

"Hey, maybe I just like running around barefoot!"

"Then you have just confirmed my suspicion that you are nothing more than a Neanderthal."

**"Well, if you're not going to attack..."**, Shrieker says. Suddenly the frog-mushroom-things start shooting off the leeches. Ryuken's, Tatsuhiro's, and Byakuya's eyes all narrow slightly before they jump into action.

"Long ti! (**Lung tee**)", Tatsuhiro shouts, performing a round house kick. In the wake of that kick is what appears to be a reddish-orange flame, almost like an after image. The leeches explode on contact with the flame, leaving Tatsuhiro unharmed.

"Klavier.", Ryuken says calmly, pulling back the string on his bow. When he releases, a flurry of blue arrow come from the bow, skewering the leeches before they can reach him.

"Hado #33: Sokatsui.", Byakuya says, holding out his palm. A burst of blue flame shoots out from his palm, incinerating the leeches.

"Whoa.", Chad says.

_The hell, _Ichigo shouts in his head, _A Quincy and a Long Zhanshi _(**lung zwan-she**)._ Where the hell did Taicho find these guy._

"You done?", Byakuya asks.

**"Eep."** is the only response.

"Now then, before we take you done," Byakuya says as Ryuken draws his bow and Tatsuhiro holds up a fist, reddish-orange flames surrounding it, "you're going to answer some questions.", at Shrieker's nod, he continues, "You killed the boy's mother, didn't you?"

**"Tch. Yeah, I killed the brat's mother."**, Shrieker says, a smirk evident in his voice,** "In fact, she wasn't the only one. I killed quite a few people when I was alive. Maybe you've heard of me. I was pretty famous a few years back."**

"You're Denji Fujieita." Tatsuhiro exclaims, "The serial killer from five years ago. The one they found dead in front of an apartment building."

**"The one and only."**, Shrieker replies.

"Then that must mean that the spirit bound to the cockatiel is Yuichi Shibata.", Ryuken says.

**"Yes, the child of my last victim, and boy that was a fun one."**, Shrieker says with a sick satisfaction,** "I stabbed her eight times and she still kept running, trying to protect the brat. I chased her onto the balcony and finished her off, but then the brat tripped me and I went over the railing, twenty stories down. I was dead, I was pissed, and I wanted payback, so I thought up a clever little plan. I sucked out the brat's soul and stuck it in the cockatiel. Then I made a deal with him. If he could run from me for three months, then I would bring his precious Okaa-San back to life."**

"Bastard.", Ichigo shouts as Yuichi makes a small cry of despair. All else present share Ichigo's sentiment and are glaring hellfire at the Hollow.

"Tell me, Hollow.", Byakuya says, his voice brimming with rage, "How exactly did you plan on doing that?"

**"I wasn't. I just said it to get the brat to play along. And it worked too. Oh the fun I had slaughtering all the people that tried to help him. And whenever he wanted to stop playing our little game, I'd just say 'Kaa-Chan's waiting for you to save her', and he'd be off, running again. Ha ha ha."**

One moment, Shrieker is laughing at the brilliance of his plan, the next, he has a sword sticking right between his eyes.

"I certainly hope you enjoyed your life," Byakuya says as he pulls his Zanpakto out of Shrieker's face, his tone dripping in sarcasm, "because, where you're going, there is only misery."

Behind Shrieker, a set of giant red gates with skeletons on them appear.

"What is that?", Chad asks, worry evident in his voice.

"The Gates of Hell.", Ichigo explains, "Whenever a soul has committed terrible sins in life the are transported to Hell through those gates."

As Ichigo says this, the Gates open, and a giant sword comes through and skewers Shrieker before dragging him back. The gates close, then disappear.

…...(page break)...

"I'm so sorry.", Yuichi wails, "I didn't mean for any of it to happen. I just wanted to see Kaa-Chan smile again."

"Hey, it's okay.", Ichigo says reassuringly, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder; his spirit had finally detached from the bird to reveal a young boy with brown hair. Byakuya and Chad are standing off to the side, with Ryuken and Tatsuhiro standing a short distance away.

"But it's my fault all those people died.", Yuichi continues.

"And you had no way of knowing that that was his intent.", Byakuya replies, putting a hand on the boy's head. "You did what you thought you had to, and there is still a way for you to see your Kaa-Chan again."

"Really?", Yuichi asks, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Yes.", Ichigo replies, "If you pass on to Soul Society, you can see your mother again."

Yuichi smiles and nods, then turns to face Chad, "Thank you for everything, Onii-San."

"Don't mention it.", Chad replies. Byakuya and Ichigo are mildly surprised at first, but then share a smile, glad that Chad can say goodbye to Yuichi properly.

"Okay, I'm ready to go now.", Yuichi says. Byakuya nods and places the blade of his Zanpakto over his right shoulder before kneeling in front of him.

"Hey Yuichi?", Chad asks, and Yuichi turns toward him again, "When I die and pass on, would it be okay if I carried you around again?"

"Sure.", Yuichi replies with a smile. He then nods to Byakuya, who nods in return and presses the pommel of his Zanpakuto to Yuichi's forehead. He is enveloped in a pale blue light. Moments later, a black butterfly flutters of into the sky.

"Victory!", Tatsuhiro shouts, thrusting a piece sign into the air and thoroughly startling everybody but Chad.

"Way to ruin the moment.", Byakuya says after he recovers from the shock.

"I couldn't help it.", Tatsuhiro says with a shrug and a goofy grin, "It's like the return of the Karakura Raizers."

"I swear, if you start calling us that again, I will stick you full of arrows.", Ryuken threatens.

"Well, anyway," Tatsuhiro says, waving Ryuken off, "I say we celebrate this victory with some of Bya-Kun's home cooking."

"Oh, really," Byakuya replies, "and Tatsuki would be okay with you blatantly abandoning your weekly sparing session?"

"Relax," Tatsuhiro says nonchalantly, "we were almost done anyway, and I told her to meet me at your house." Byakuya and Ryuken sigh and shake their heads, then Byakuya leads the way back to his house.

Ichigo, throughout the whole conversation, had a dead-pan look on his face. Now that they are leaving, he turns to Chad, "So you can see spirits now?"

"They're really blurry, but yeah.", Chad replies. He is carrying the cage with the now-ordinary cockatiel.

"When in the fight did that start?"

"About when Kurosaki-San, Ishida-San, and Arisawa-San showed up."

Ichigo sighs, then continues, "Alright, I won't modify your memory, but you have to promise not to tell anyone but Uryu, Orihime, Tatsuki, and Rukia." Chad grunts and nods. _I wonder what else I'll have to deal with while I'm here,_ Ichigo wonders while looking up at the sky.

…...(page break)...

Back at the house, an unsuspecting Byakuya Kurosaki, Ryuken Ishida, and Tatsuhiro Arisawa walk into the kitchen to find an incredibly pissed off Rukia Kurosaki, Uryu Ishida, and Tatsuki Arisawa sitting at the table, along with innocent by-stander Orihime Inoue, who is standing in front of an open cupboard.

Uryu is in blue jeans and a white tee-shirt with a blue cross on it, Tatsuki is still in her gi, and Rukia is in a baggy, black tank top and dark blue shorts with a white medical mask over her face. Orihime is in a pink shirt and white skirt.

"So, how was Hollow hunting?", Rukia asks in that honey-and-venom tone that seems to run in the family, although the effect was slightly lessened, due to sinuses.

"Umm.", is the brilliant response given by Byakuya, Ryuken, and Tatsuhiro.

Ichigo, sensing the danger, acts quickly, "Hey, Orihime, me and Chad are going to hang out in the living room."

"I think I'll join you.", Orihime responds, also sensing the danger.

Ryuken and Tatsuhiro are worried, and Byakuya sends a pleading look at Ichigo, begging him not to leave them alone with their children.

"Good luck, Taicho.", Ichigo says with a smile and a wave before making a hasty retreat. He manages to make it to the living room before the shouted accusations of 'Why didn't you tell us' and pleas of 'We were trying to protect you' started. Ichigo smiles and shakes his head. He may not know what's in store for him, but at least it promises not to be boring.

…...(page break)...

**Omake**

…...(page break)...

**Gin's Outtakes**

"What the hell," Rukia exclaims in anger, "I was barely even in this chapter!"

"Rukia, can this wait.", I reply, "I'll give an explanation in the outtakes."

"Fine.", Rukia pouts, plopping down on the couch.

"So it's okay to start now?", Gin asks from behind the desk.

"I have one question before we start." Ichigo says, raising his hand, from his spot next to Rukia on the couch.

"Shoot.", I reply.

"Why do you have your Zanpakuto and wand with you?", Ichigo asks, pointing out the Tanto strapped to my right arm and the wand strapped to my right thigh.

"Because Kenpachi and Kisame proved that you guys can't keep out of a fight to save your lives, and Seto, Itachi, and Snape proved that I can't rely on anyone else to break up a fight. Now, Gin. We got anything new?"

"Yes. One of the reviewers, Zanka no Tachi 31, has expressed concerns about Rukia's rapid development."

"Oh yeah, I can see how that could be confusing. Alright, in this story, I'm introducing a concept that I haven't really seen in any other fics. I call them the Noble Clan Hidden Traits, and it's essentially one of my explanations for why Ichigo is so fucking powerful. Hidden Traits are traits that set certain noble-men and women apart strength-wise and are indicated by something different about there appearance. For instance, the Shiba Clan Hidden Trait is a monstrous Reiryoku and Reiatsu, denoted by orange hair. For the Kuchiki Clan, it is finite control of their Reiatsu, denoted by violet eyes."

"So we pretty much kick butt.", Ichigo states.

"Yes, and I would also like to point out the situation Rukia is in is vastly different from the one she was in in the anime and manga. In the original plot, Rukia didn't need to progress this fast, because she wasn't put on the front line immediately after getting her Zanpakuto. In my story, she's put into the same situation as Ichigo was in, having to progress quickly or get slaughtered."

"Not to mention that Dragon needs Rukia to progress that quickly for the plot to move forward.", Gin chimes in.

"Watch it Gin.", I say while giving him a sidelong glare, which he seems not to notice.

"Okay, you gave the fans there explanation, now what about mine!", Rukia snaps, "Why am I not in this chapter?"

"Because, in the absence of a younger sibling, I needed a plausible reason for you not to be in the fight right away. It just evolved into you not being in the fight at all."

"I like how the chapter turned out.", Ichigo states.

"That's because you got to kick butt.", Rukia retorts.

"Alright, I think that's all we have time for.", I cut in.

"Yes," Gin agrees, "thank you everyone for reading, and be sure to tune in next time."

"Oh, and one more thing," I say, "If you have any questions for me or the cast, be sure to send a review."

"Bye bye."

…...(page break)...

**Glossary**

**-Okaa/Kaa **(_mother_)

_**-Inarizushi**_: a kind of sushi that consists of rice wrapped in fried tofu batter. Byakuya likes to add vegetables that have been cooked in sesame seed oil to the rice, and a touch of honey to the tofu batter, providing contrasting flavors in a small, healthy package.

**-**_**Onigiri**_: rice balls, a popular snack food item in Japan, comparable to the American doughnut, only much healthier.

**-Fullbringer **(_Full Manifestation Artist_): Spiritually aware humans born with the ability **Fullbring**, which allows them to manipulate the souls that reside in all physical matter. There powers are constituted of Hollow Reiryoku.

**-Reiraku **(_Spirit Ribbons_): the visualization of Reiryoku into ribbons. These can be used by Spiritually aware people to track an individual.

**-Seppa **(_Stone wave_): By moving his hand or foot in the same pattern as the trembling current, the sign of the Shiba Clan, Ichigo can reduce anything he touches to sand. Ichigo often uses this technique in concert with Sokatsui and an attack from Zangetsu.

**-Hado #33; Sokatsui **(_Blue Fire, Crash Down_): incantation; Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws; the practitioner, aiming their palm at the target, generates a torrent of blue spiritual and fires it at the target. The energy moves like a direct blast or a large wave, depending on the amount of power put into it.

**-Long Zhanshi **(_Chinese; Dragon Warrior_): Spiritually aware humans with the ability to manipulate the Reiryoku around them, causing it heat up drastically. Their attacks tend to have the appearance of reddish-orange flames, known as Dragon's Fire, that can either be used to augment there physical attacks by increasing physical strength and adding a burning element, or shot outward from their bodies, either offensively or defensively.

**-Long ti **(_Chinese; Dragon Kick_): the practitioner covers his foot in Dragon's Fire and then performs a swift kick. The target is often left with severe burns and broken bones. The Dragon's Fire leave a trail behind the kick, allowing for defensive capabilities.

**-Quincy **(_Monk of Destruction_): Spiritually aware humans with the ability to manipulate the Reiryoku around them, causing it to take the form of various spirit weapons, most often a bow.

**-Klavier **(_German; Piano_): The practitioner is able to fire a multitude of powerful arrows from their spirit weapon.


End file.
